


Echo from the Past

by Bluedragoness (Palatinedreams)



Category: Perry Rhodan - Various Authors
Genre: Aftermath, Anal Sex, Developing Relationship, Drinking & Talking, Explicit Sexual Content, Flashbacks, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hopeful Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Love, Memories, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Promises, Revelations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:55:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26428216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Bluedragoness
Summary: After Atlan almost died because the Anti Priest had stolen his cellular regenerator, the ten thousand year old Arkonide seeks peace and quiet in his private gardens, where Perry Rhodan finds him and asks him to tell him a story about the adventures he has had on Earth over the course of time he was stuck on the planet so far away from his own home world Arkon.Sitting in the grass under the gleaming light of the stars of M13 and drinking wine together Atlan tells him a story about his friend Richard the Lionheart, and when the truth about his relationship with the English king comes out, his friendship with Perry will never be the same again as it was before...
Relationships: Atlan da Gonozal/Perry Rhodan
Comments: 32
Kudos: 4





	1. Under the Starlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonflower1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflower1/gifts).



> Dear dragonflower1,  
> you know what this is about. <33
> 
> This story is readable and understandable without knowing about the events the first chapter is referring to, I'm writing it in a way that you don't really need to know the books to be able to follow this story, but I want to give you some information to the nicknames and the two characters themselves:
> 
> Atlan was an Arkonidian prince and fought against an unknown threat in the sector where Terra (Earth) is located ten thousand years ago. His brain was altered and contains a so called 'logic sector' that talks to him from time to time, and he possesses a photgraphic memory that takes over control when he's telling stories of his past. A mysterious being called 'ES' ('IT') gave a cellular regenarator to him which makes him immortal when it comes to aging. He's dependent on this egg-like device and will die after seventy-two hours when he's losing it. 
> 
> When Atlan and Perry first met on Earth, they were enemies, but became friends after some fights against each other, and during one of these fights, Atlan started to call Rhodan 'barbarian' to rile him up. Rhodan is stuck with that nick name now, 'barbarian' or 'little barbarian', and he sometimes calls Atlan 'old man' because of his age in return.
> 
> The mentioned Robot Regent has been ruling over Arkon because the Arkonides had become decadent over the centuries, incapable of keeping their empire intact and protected, and only one of the 'old' still strong and powerful Arkonides could end the robot's reign of terror and become the next Imperator of the Arkonidian Empire. Atlan could penetrate the protecting shields around the giant robot brain and was acknowledged as the next rightful Imperator Gonozal VIII. then. Now he's living on Arkon II and missing Terra and his beloved barbarians more than he'd thought it possible.
> 
> Rhodan is immortal too because of a cellular regenerating shower he's receiving on the world of the being 'ES' on a regular basis, later on he will have a cellular regenerator that is adjusted to his cells as well. He saved the Arkonide by shooting the Anti Priest with bow and arrow, the only weapon that could penetrate the Anti's energy shield.
> 
> Antis are capable of offsetting the psi-powers of mutants and telepath, and their earned their name 'Antis' because of that ability, so Rhodan couldn't use his psi-corps to help getting Atlan's cellular regenerator back.
> 
> Rhodan's best friend from his first flight to the moon with the rocket Stardust is Reginald Bull, he's mentioned in this story. But where Bull called Bully and Rhodan are 'classical' best friends, the relationship between Perry and Atlan is different and special. Atlan has always been a womanizer, but their banters and teasing could as well imply more, so pairing them together is not that unbelievable and unlogical.
> 
> He is the First Administrator of the Solar Empire, and he's known as a 'direct-shifter' because he can adapt to new situations and circumstances faster than anybody else. The German word is 'Sofortumschalter', and maybe 'direct-switcher' would be better, but 'direct-shifter' sounds better, I think.
> 
> I also couldn't resist to include my favorite historical king in this story, and I do believe that Atlan could have met him when he woke up from his hibernations over the centuries to see whether or not human mankind had developed further and would finally offer the technology he would need to return to Arkon. I hope that you don't mind me including another historical detour in this story for you. <33
> 
> I'm not sure how it's in the English versions of the books, but I opted for Arkonidian as the adjective for Arkonide and to use the word Terranian as humans from Earth are called 'Terraner' in the German books. Atlan is often written as 'the Arkonide with the white hair' or the 'ten thousand years old Arkonide' in the books, and Rhodan simply as 'Terranian' or 'First Administrator', so I went with that in this story, too.
> 
> I borrowed the title of this story from the symphonic metal band 'Beyond the Black' and their song 'Echo From The Past'.
> 
> I really hope you will enjoy this story about my really first OTP from my teenage years!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atlan tries to settle down after the terrible events from the last seventy-two hours in his private gardens, but Rhodan finds him and asks him to drink some Terranian wine with him and tell him a story from his past. Atlan agrees, even though it's harder and harder for him to hide his true feelings from his Terranian friend...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing on this chapter for a week, which is really long for me, but real life has been getting in the way, so I hope that it's still a good one. <33

The wind was blowing softly through the magnificent park that belonged to the Imperator's private quarters in the Crystal Palace on Arkon II.

Night had fallen over the artificial landscape some hours ago, but the sky over Arkon was never really dark here in the globular cluster of stars which Atlan had come to think of as 'M13' even long before he'd made the acquaintance of the most remarkable human that had ever been born. Considering that he was ten thousand years old and had lived on Terra for almost the same amount of time, the direct descendant of the old and powerful generation of Arkonides could pride himself on having met and known much more humans than anyone else had ever done – and that a lot of them had been famous and important persons of their time and were still of historical and public interest even after hundreds of years that had passed since then.

Atlan had withdrawn to his private quarters shortly after his long meeting with Rhodan and Bull and the far too opulent dinner that had followed said meeting, hoping that taking a walk in his private gardens would help him settle down again after the exhausting events of the last seventy-two hours.

The Arkonide who had once been the designated Crystal Prince - but had also had to wait for ten thousand years to become the next rightful Imperator - had been in dire straits on countless occasions before today, but it had never been _such_ a close call as it had been today.

It was only thanks to Rhodan's exceptional ability to adjust to new circumstances and situations within one heartbeat and the next that his Arkonidian friend had survived and that he would be able to see the sun rise over Arkon II the very next day again. The First Administrator of the Solar Empire had earned himself his nick name as a 'direct-shifter' for good reasons, and Atlan knew how lucky he was that he was allowed to call the tall human with the lean body, the dark-blond hair and the silver-gray eyes his friend.

They'd once been enemies, thinking that they needed to hate each other for the sake of their beloved home worlds, but their relationship had changed into a deep friendship over the years, and Atlan would give his life for the other man without thinking – just like he knew that Rhodan would always risk his own life for him in return and come to his help no matter how many light years were between them.

The sight of Rhodan's face when he'd run in his direction to press the cellular activator against his chest in the literally last seconds before he would have lost his desperate fight against his inevitable death had burnt itself into Atlan's photographic memory, and he could still see the expression of mortal fear and utmost despair on his friend's contorted features before his mind's eye.

Mortal fear not for his own life, but for Atlan's.

The tall Arkonide had only once seen this kind of desperation on Perry's haggard but yet so handsome features - back then, when he'd stood beside the coffin in which his beloved wife Thora of Zoltral had found her final rest, and Atlan had certainly never expected to see this expression on Perry's face when it came to himself.

Perry Rhodan was without a doubt the best friend Atlan had ever had in his long life, but there had always been an invisible line between them which he'd never dared to cross – or merely thought of daring to cross it - and he'd always kept this part of himself a secret from his friend.

At first Atlan had thought that his blurred vision and the fact that he'd been at the point of death had been playing tricks on him, but later, when his cellular activator had done its work and he'd finally fully recovered from his almost fatal encounter with the Anti priest, he'd caught Rhodan looking at him in the same way each time he thought himself to be unobserved. It had happened during their long talk with Rhodan's best friend and right hand Reginald Bull, and it had happened again later during the feast the Robot Regent had decided to be appropriate for the First Administrator and therefore leader and regent of the Solar Empire.

Atlan knew that Rhodan didn't see himself as a regent, but more as the faithful and devoted servant and care taker for his still rather small galactic empire and all of its inhabitants, but Arkon's society and culture had always been based on the powerful aristocratic families that had ruled the Arkon Empire for millennia, and the Robot Regent could be as stubborn as any living and breathing being. Atlan's reign was still not as solid and unquestioned that he would have dared to arouse any serious problems between himself and the giant robot computer just because of an opulent dinner, and so he had resigned himself to another unwanted duty that came with his new title and life.

And now he couldn't stop recalling in his memory how Rhodan had looked at him as if the thought of losing the Arkonide he'd once wanted to kill was an unbearable one to the gray-eyed Terranian. Knowing Perry Rhodan as well as he did, Atlan wasn't even sure whether or not his friend was even aware of how he'd been looking at him all day and what his looks actually implied.

Probably not. Perry Rhodan was for sure the most oblivious man in the entire galaxy when it came to matters of love, and he was certainly telling himself that friendship was all that tied them together.

Atlan had thought the same until today, but now the tall Arkonide with the long white hair realized that he'd been wrong, and that friendship between them alone wouldn't be enough for him anymore, not after he'd seen the deep feelings in Perry's eyes his friend was most likely still denying, even to himself.

Atlan could still feel the touch of Rhodan's hand on his skin when he'd pressed the cellular activator against his chest and hear his harsh pleas that he would not die under his hands, and the Arkonide had actually come to the gardens to seek some peace and quiet, but he still felt restless and upset, something that surely wouldn't change any time soon.

Under normal circumstances he didn't need as much sleep as other humans or Arkonides due to his activator, but Perry had saved him literally in the last minute of the seventy-two hours that had been left for him when the Anti had stolen the mysterious device that kept him alive and from aging since more than ten thousand years by now; and going to bed would be the most sensible thing to do. Yet he couldn't bring himself to go back inside and face his servant, who would only make a fuss about him and tell him that he wasn't capable of undressing himself and without help and needed to be pampered like a small boy.

Atlan had given up his freedom and much of his free will when he'd become Imperator Gonozal VIII of Arkon, and he was very much a prisoner here in the Crystal Palace, a prisoner of his duties and the expectations and responsibilities that were weighing so heavily on his shoulders.

For ten thousand years he'd longed to return back home to his own world and people more than anything, but now he found it much harder to adapt than he'd thought it to be. The night sky was too bright, and he really missed the dark nights of that small and unimportant planet he'd been stuck on for millennia. He missed the untamed wild beauty that was still growing and blooming on Terra, the jungles and deserts. He missed the Atlantic Ocean so badly, the vastness of blue and gray – a gray so similar to Perry's eyes - and he missed the sound of its waves breaking on the shore so much that it sometimes hurt him physically. But most of all he missed the wild and proud inhabitants of this small world, these men and women who called themselves Terranians now, he missed their agile minds, their curiosity and determination as much as he missed the strange mixture of arrogance and innocence they showed as they were slowly but unstoppably conquering the galaxy.

They reminded him so painfully of his own people and how the Arkonides had once been, proud, strong, powerful and adventurous, and their First Administrator Perry Rhodan reminded Atlan of himself in so many ways.

Here, in the beautiful, but artificial and tamed gardens of his palace, Atlan felt the differences between their two species and the huge gap that separated him from his own people even more, and a strong wave of homesickness for Earth overcame him. He swallowed, deeply lost in wistful memories and melancholy, and he whirled around on his heels with a startled hiss when someone cleared their throat somewhere behind him and he became aware of a sudden movement to his right side.

“You've been better at that, Arkonide. Today's events have weakened your senses, old man.”

Rhodan leaned against the trunk of a perfectly trimmed tree, his lean figure illuminated by the light of hundreds of stars from the globular cluster M13. They looked at each other, and Atlan felt his throat tighten with feelings he'd thought that he'd locked them deep inside long ago. Now they were breaking free, his resolve and self-control weakened after having almost died on this fateful day.

“Maybe it's because you've simply finally learned what I've been trying to teach you for so long, little barbarian – how to properly sneak up on someone. It took you long enough to learn it anyway.” Atlan gave back as nonchalantly as he was able to do to hide his confusion from his friend.

 _'Useless attempt to deceive him. Rhodan is looking right through you.'_ the logic sector of his brain made itself known, and Atlan frowned in annoyance. He didn't need this normally rather useful part of his brain to tell him what he could see in the endless depths of Rhodan's gray eyes.

“I'll need to have words with the Robot Regent – it was supposed to double the guards and safety circuits.” he added to distract himself from the hammering of his heart. His eyes had started to water the moment his gaze had fallen upon Rhodan's face, deep lines visible around the Terranian's mouth and speaking of exhaustion and the aftermath of the mortal fear for Atlan's life the First Administrator had gone through not more than half a day earlier.

“It did carry out your orders, Arkonide. But as I've been the one saving your life not that long ago, it apparently believed me not to be a threat to your imperial integrity, your majesty.” Rhodan gave back with a shrug of his shoulders and gentle mockery coloring his dry voice. “Besides, I've been here before more than once without being detected – even before you became Imperator Gonozal VIII, my friend.”

The Terranian wasn't as unaffected as he tried to appear, and his eyes were scanning Atlan's face in close scrutiny for any sign that he'd come too late and that the cellular activator wasn't able to repair the damage its loss for seventy-two hours had done to his Arkonidian friend. When he found Atlan's features to be the same as they'd been before the Anti priest had stolen his most precious possession, he pushed himself away from the tree to slowly walk over to where Atlan was standing on the meadow, his long white hair shimmering like pure silver in the starlight.

“I even managed to smuggle your most favorite Terranian wine here without the guards noticing the bottle. You probably long for something stronger, my friend, but this wine will have to suffice tonight.” The usually so strict and controlled Terranian statesman grinned at him as he made himself comfortable in the soft grass, using the trunk of another well-trimmed tree as a backrest for his back. He patted the green stalks beside him to invite Atlan sitting down next to him, and Atlan did, even though he knew that he would be chided for ruining his clothes later. Rhodan was the most comfortable when he could wear the simple and plain uniform of the Solar Fleet, but he'd dressed up with his gala uniform tonight, and he hadn't bothered to change before he'd sought his friend out in his private gardens after the feast.

“Forget about your duties and being the Imperator for a few hours, my friend,” Rhodan asked him, and Atlan took the offered bottle his friend had opened in the meantime.

“I wish I could. It's not as easy for me to forget that I'm the most hated person in the Arkonidian Empire now – and actually more a prisoner than anything else. A royal prisoner, but a prisoner nonetheless.”

“Since when does it bother you who's hating you, old man?” Rhodan gazed at him from the side, taking the bottle from Atlan's hands to sip from the expensive alcohol, and he held Atlan's gaze when he touched the neck of the bottle with his mouth right where Atlan's lips had been only seconds before. The ten-thousand-year old Arkonide felt a rush of arousal surge through him, but he told himself that Rhodan wasn't aware of what he was doing and that the signs he was giving away were arousing the desperate hope in Atlan that there was more than just friendship tying them together.

“Since I almost died today, I guess.” Atlan tore his gaze away from Rhodan's Adam's Apple and the way it was moving under the pale skin of his throat when he was swallowing the wine down, staring at the red flowers blooming on the other side of the small meadow instead. Their scent was sweet and pleasant, but not as pleasant as Perry's unique fragrance, the mixture of fresh sweat, sun-kissed skin, leather and the herbal soap he used making Atlan feel at home like nothing else did.

Rhodan's mouth stilled, and he slowly put the bottle down onto the grass as he swallowed the last sip he'd taken. Atlan watched him from the side, and his breath faltered when the other man finally turned his head to meet his eyes.

“I wouldn't have let that happen, my friend,” he said simply, and Atlan wanted to speak and thank him, but he couldn't. He cleared his throat and tried it again.

“Thank you, little barbarian,” he croaked out, fearing that he would reveal too much of his feelings if he used Perry's birth name.

“You're welcome, old man.” Rhodan snorted, handing him the bottle with the wine again. For a while, they sat next to each other silently, close enough that Atlan could feel Perry's body heat seep through his clothes.

 _'Remaining silent won't help you finding out more about his feelings for you,'_ his logic sector decided to bother him with another totally unnecessary statement, and Atlan could barely keep his groan of frustration inside.

“Tell me a story, Imperator, tell me a story about your past – your time on Earth. You're always so quiet about it. I'm sure you must have made the acquaintance of some truly remarkable people. Met some of our famous ancestors. You have mentioned Wallenstein one time. Did you really meet him personally?” Rhodan asked curiously, craning his head back to let the light of thousands of distant stars shine onto his face. He looked relaxed, and he'd allowed himself to let his guard down like he only did rare times.

Atlan wanted to reach out and touch him, to reassure himself that Perry was real and not just a vision his upset mind made him see, but he didn't dare to actually do that and took another sip from the bottle instead. “That's so typically you, little barbarian, bringing me this expensive beverage without proper glasses. But what else is to expect from you Terranian barbarians that are coming from this small and unimportant planet on the outskirts of the galaxy.”

“Don't insult your life savior, Arkonide. Your lame and decadent subjects won't come to your rescue when you'll need salvation again.” Rhodan shot back, taking the bottle back. “What about the story you promised me to tell me now?”

“I don't remember having promised you anything, Terranian.” Atlan objected, but he knew that he would give in and tell Perry the story he wanted to hear anyway.

“But you owe me one. Tell me more about our ancestors and your adventures while you were waiting for us to develop the technology that would bring you back home.” There was a strange undertone in Rhodan's voice, something Atlan couldn't really recognize, and his logic sector remained unhelpfully quiet this time as well.

“Yes, I met Wallenstein,” he said after a moment, “and some more important and interesting men you have actually a lot in common with. There were even kings like Richard Plantagenet I've accompanied for a couple of years...” Atlan wasn't really sure why he'd mentioned the impressive English sovereign, but Perry turned his head to look at him, his gray eyes sparking with interest and fascination.

“You've known Richard the Lionheart? What was he like?”

“He was for sure a fascinating man. Powerful, ruthless, and he could be cruel. But sovereigns of his time needed to be ruthless and sometimes cruel. He was also a poet and of great nobility.” Atlan could hear the wistful sound of his own voice, and he was sure that Rhodan noticed it too.

“How did you meet him?” his friend asked when Atlan remained silent for a moment, fighting against his photographic memory that wanted to take over control and force him to retell the story of his encounter with Richard Plantagenet, the king who'd already been given the name 'Lionheart' when he'd still been alive, feared by his enemies and his own younger brother, and admired by his friends and subjects.

“Richard was one of the most important leaders of the crusade, and he didn't fear Saladin like all the other rulers did. I hadn't intended to take part in the crusade myself, but I'd slipped into the role of a nobleman ruling over one of the small islands located in the English Channel, and I soon found myself on the same ship that brought Richard to the cost of Levant.”

Atlan paused, and he could feel Rhodan's intensive gaze on his face. It was hard not to let himself be pulled into his vivid memories, even more as there were things about his friendship with the famous English king Perry wouldn't want to know about, Atlan was sure of that.

“So you were even a crusader,” the First Administrator stated thoughtfully, and he sounded intrigued and deterred at the same time.

“I've once been a Roman centurion as well, little barbarian,” Atlan snorted, “long before your ancestors even knew the meaning of the word culture.”

Rhodan chuckled lightly. “Which proved to be a good thing today, didn't it? Only barbarians would know how to use bow and arrow.” he drawled, and Atlan tried to scowl at him, but the strange fire burning in his friend's eyes made his heart beat faster with the longing to steal the beautiful sound of Perry's laughter from his lips with his own mouth.

The Terranian went serious when he found Atlan staring at his mouth, and he cleared his throat, but he didn't move away or averted his gaze, just took the bottle to drink more wine, his silver-gray eyes holding Atlan's fascinated gaze as he did so.

“Only a centurion, your imperial majesty?” he asked with gentle mockery when he'd taken another generous gulp from the alcohol, “not a commander or at least a legate?”

Atlan was always surprised about the astonishing amount of knowledge his friend possessed about history, and this time was no different from all the others.

“Anyway, you can tell me about your Roman adventures on another time. Now I really want to know more about Richard the Lionheart.”

“Hmm, what do you want to know about him?” Atlan countered with a question of his own, and he didn't need his logic sector to tell him that he was just trying to buy himself more time. The simple truth was that he _wanted_ to tell Perry about Richard Plantagenet and the bonds that had tied them together, even though he knew that he was risking a lot with that and in danger to deter his Terranian friend away and ruin their friendship beyond repair if he admitted the true nature of his relationship to the English king.

The way Perry was looking at him could as well be totally different from what his own selfish heart wanted it to be, and that Atlan was still feeling the touch of Rhodan's fingers on his skin didn't mean that the most special and fascinating man Atlan had met in ten millennia was still thinking about that crucial moment too.

“Anything you want to tell me about him – and your relationship with him,” Rhodan gave back with a shrug of his shoulders, but there was a tension in his posture, and his eyes were sparkling in a strange silver light. “Did you really fight side by side against Saladin?”

The Arkonide stroked a strand of his long white hair out of his face. “Yes, I did. But don't let us talk about war and battles tonight, please,” he murmured, and Rhodan's expression turned regretful instantly.

“Of course, my friend, I'm sorry,” he said, reaching out to touch Atlan's clasped hands for a split second.

It was only a feather-light touch, barely palpable, but it sent a heavy shiver down on Atlan's spine. He swallowed and drew in a deep breath.

“We got separated on our way back to France, but we met again later, during Richard's captivity as Emperor Heinrich VI.'s prisoner.” he said, and Rhodan sat up a little bit straighter.

“And how did that happen?” he asked almost eagerly, and Atlan knew that he was lost. There were only few things he wouldn't do for his friend when Perry was looking at him like that, and after what Perry had done for him today when he'd saved his life, the least he could do to thank him was telling him the story he wished to hear so much.

“Fair enough, but don't complain when my photographic memory takes over control!” he made one last attempt to avoid the inevitable.

“I won't!” Rhodan promised, and Atlan took one last sip from the wine before he began to tell the story of King Richard the Lionheart and his faithful minstrel Blondel de Nesle.


	2. A Lion's Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perry Rhodan asked Atlan to tell him a story of his past on Earth, and the Arkonide's photographic memory remembers his time with Richard I. of England, called Richard the Lionheart - when he played the role of the young French lord and minstrel Blondel de Nesle, and the false identity he'd set up suddenly felt so real because he fell in love with the remarkable English ruler, hopelessly and unstoppably...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear dragonflower1,
> 
> I'm sorry that this chapter took me so long, but it was actually rather difficult to write for me, especially the ending. It had to be this way, though, and I stayed close to history and what we know about Richard's life.
> 
> Richard was the one finally negotiating the conditions of a peace treaty with Saladin when it became clear that they wouldn't be able to conquer Jerusalem and bring it back under Christian reign again, and as he had insulted Duke Leopold on one occasion and upset several of his former aristocratic European allies with his political moves, he had to make his way back to France and Englad in the disguise of a simple traveler and pilgrim. Duke Leopold of Austria trapped him when he tried to cross Austria, and he kept him imprisoned in Castle Dürnstein until Emperor Heinrich VI. agreed to Leopold's proposals and the Austrian handed him over to the German emperor. 
> 
> Richard spent several weeks in the imperial Castle Trifels before he was brought before the council in Worms, where he held an impressive speech to defend himself. It is told that his speech moved the young emperor to tears, and some of the charges brought up against him were dropped again, but Heinrich VI. demanded a huge ransom of hundred thousand silver marks and that Richard would swear the oath of allegiance to him in exchange for his freedom.
> 
> Richard's mother Eleanor of Aquitaine traveled to England to get the ransom from each English household, and the consequences of this huge amount of money is still affecting England nowadays as there are hardly precious remains from that time left, no jewels or other silverware or gold, and England was a poor country after the ransom was paid.
> 
> The 'Blondel-Saga' exists in two versions, one where Richard's faithful minstrel Blondel is traveling to Castle Dürnstein in Austria to sing the special song he and Richard composed together under the barred window of Richard's dungeon, and one where he goes to Castle Trifels to sing that song there and free his king from his dungeon. The saga is old and actually pretty homoerotic, and there have always been rumors that Richard was actually preferring his own gender and only married for political reasons. His wife Berengaria actually never really lived together with him, and they didn't have any children.
> 
> Richard remained in Heinrich's custody for almost a year and regained his freedom in February 1194, swearing the oath of allegiance to Heinrich in Mainz. From there he traveled through Germany for a few months to gain new allies before he returned to England where he was crowned for a second time.
> 
> Richard actually felt much more at home in Aquitaine in France, and he returned to France soon after his stay in England, where he tried to get the lands back King Philipp of France had conquered during his captivity, when some of the French aristocrats had jumped ships and sided with Philipp.
> 
> Richard died in April 1199 because of an injury he'd gained during the siege of Castle Chalûs-Chabrol in France.
> 
> I did my best to do history justice and yet make this chapter a part of Atlan's adventures on Earth and write the events from his perspective. I hope that I achieved this goal and that this chapter is enjoyable to read. <33
> 
>  _'mon coeur de Lion'_ is French for _'my lionheart'_.
> 
> Blondel de Nesle is most likely the same person as the historcial Jean de Nesle, a young French nobleman who wrote and composed several songs and serenades. It is not certain, which of the two Jean de Nesle he could have been, the I. or the II., and some historian says that he was actually not related to them, but someone else and not of noble birth at all. It can be taken for granted that he actually existed, though.

_Not even the mouse-brown cowl that was made of rough and scratchy wool could hide Richard's natural grace and nobility, and the aristocratic features visible under the large hood of the frock would give his true identity away if he wasn't careful enough on his long way back home to France._

_Richard's skin was shimmering in the pale moonlight that was shining onto the deck of the ship that was supposed to bring them back, his face still delicately tanned from the merciless Levantine sun._

_Atlan knew that they would have to part in a few hours, and it was breaking his heart in a way he'd never expected it to break again. There had only ever been one other man as remarkable as the tall English sovereign, and it had been so long ago, but the memory of him was still so fresh due to Atlan's photographic memory as though it had been yesterday that the white-haired Arkonide had lost him._

_The former Crystal Prince of the Arkonidian Empire had known a lot of remarkable men and women over the course of millennia and centuries, and given the choice he usually preferred having female company and lovers. But once in a while there would be someone drawing him in like no other, someone with a body and mind so similar to his own, and then he would feel the full depth and extent of love and passion for another being crushing him._

_Richard Plantagenet had made him feel this way almost right from the first moment they had met, and Atlan had almost been shocked when he found his deep feelings for the impressive ruler to be returned with the same strength and passion._

_The Arkonide couldn't help but wonder whether or not Richard would still love him with the same passion if he knew about his true identity and that Atlan was actually not the young nobleman Blondel de Nesle from the Island of Guernsey, but an alien invader from another star system and an once so powerful galactic empire - and that he was actually more than eight thousand years old by now._

_Atlan was always careful to keep his distance from the little barbarians how he was still calling his human relatives from the small planet Terra tenderly now and then, but human beings of any kind and appearance weren't meant to be alone and live their lives without friendship, love and passion, even more when they were immortal and as old as Atlan was. Sometimes, when the loneliness became too much to bear, he let his guard down and allowed one of his new people and kin to come closer to him, and he'd fallen for the tall King of England before he even knew what was happening to him._

_They had fought against Saladin and his troops side by side, they had lain in the hot sand next to each other countless times, covered with dirt from head to toe and fighting for their lives. But there had been sweet moments too, in Richard's tent when they had sung together and the king's eyes had sparkled with joy because he could for once be just Richard and did not have to be the strong king and commander of his armies for a couple of hours._

_The Third Crusade had ended with a peace treaty, but not with a real victory for the Christian crusaders. Jerusalem was still under Saladin's reign, but unarmed pilgrims were allowed to visit the Holy City, and this was probably more than what they could have hoped for a couple of months ago. Richard had been the one negotiating the peace treaty with Saladin, always in the knowledge that he needed to go back home as soon as possible because his unworthy younger brother John was trying to claim England's throne for himself during Richard's long absence. Plus, King Philipp II of France had started to conquer Richard's estates in Aquitaine, the lands Richard actually considered to be his true home because he had spent so many years of his childhood there._

_But some of Richard's deeds during the crusade were backfiring at him now, and he couldn't just sail back to England or to the cost of France with his ship, knowing that his adversaries were just waiting to get their hands on him, especially Duke Leopold of Austria. Therefore Richard had to take the route across the mainland, disguised as a simple traveler and pilgrim, and he would leave the ship and Atlan as well early in the morning and make his way back to France on horseback together with only his most trustworthy friends and personal guards accompanying him on his long and dangerous journey._

_Atlan had insisted on coming with him at first, but his unique appearance as what the Terranians called Albino-like made it impossible for him to travel together with his royal friend. His white hair, pale ivory skin and red eyes were common among his own kin, but Albinos were only rarely known on Terra, and his presence would have endangered Richard more than it was actually worth the risk, no matter how much of a skilled and outstanding warrior Atlan was._

“ _You will take care of my mother and keep her company until I can see her again, my Blondel, won't you?”_

_Richard's quiet words rose Atlan from his musings, and he smiled at the English sovereign and Duke of Aquitaine, hiding his worries about his lover's safety behind a mask of calm and confidence._

“ _I will protect her as if I were you, mon coeur de Lion,” he promised his king, his voice hoarse and betraying his deep emotions for this remarkable man._

“ _I know that you will do that. You will be the son I can't be for her until I have returned to her loving arms, and there is no one else in this world I would trust more with her well-being other than you, song of my heart,” the king gave back, raising a royal hand to stroke a long silvery-white strand out of Atlan's face._

_They couldn't give in to their desire for each other here on board this ship and with so many eyes watching them closely all of the time, but the light touch of Richard's calloused fingers made Atlan's skin burn and his throat tighten with a wave of pure and desperate want. His cellular activator was pulsing as it worked to calm him, but Atlan knew that he wouldn't stop worrying about the man he loved until they would be reunited again._

“ _My heart will always be with you, mon coeur de Lion,” he whispered when Richard stepped back and his hand fell down to his side again, “and so will my songs.”_

“ _You are the light in my eyes and the pulse of my heart, Blondel de Nesle,” Richard said his farewell to his faithful friend and minstrel – who had once been a prince himself before fate had trapped him on this strange world – and all Atlan could do was watch his king leave him and hope that one day they would be united again._

_*~*~*_

_Atlan's journey on board the ship had been surprisingly uneventful, but he heard the news soon after he'd reached Aquitaine. Duke Leopold had caught the English sovereign when Richard had tried to travel through Austria in the disguise of a pilgrim, and he held him as his prisoner in Castle Dürnstein while he was negotiating the conditions of Richard's handover to Emperor Heinrich VI._

_The Arkonide felt so helpless, and everything inside him screamed to rush to his beloved king's aid, but he was just one man and couldn't really do anything that wouldn't endanger Richard's life further – or reveal his own true identity. But the little barbarians Atlan had come to love over the millennia and centuries were not ready for the truth, and so he returned to Richard's lands with a heavy heart to face the wrath and grief of a desperate mother and tell Eleanor of Aquitaine that he had failed her and that he hadn't been able to rescue her most beloved son from the grip of his enemies._

_Eleanor of Aquitaine was still a beautiful woman. Her hair might have turned white like Atlan's, but her posture was straight and proud, and her face was of an ageless beauty only few women possessed._

_Atlan found himself kneeling before her chair with his head lowered down in shame and devotion, and it didn't strike him odd that the proud and arrogant Crystal Prince of the powerful Arkonidian Empire was bending his head before a Terranian woman to receive her judgment as if he were nothing more than one of the lowest servants serving in the kitchens of the Crystal Palace._

_Eleanor reached out with her right hand to accept his kiss, and Atlan's heart leaped in his chest when he blew a kiss over the back of her elegant right that he was forgiven just like that. None of his own family would have done the same, and he remained kneeling until Eleanor leaned forward to take his face between her small hands and look him into his eyes._

“ _You did not fail my son, Lord Nesle,” the royal lady said, “nor did you fail me in any way. You did what he asked you to do and came to me, and it is upon both of us now to ensure our beloved's safety.”_

_Atlan felt himself drain of any color that had been left in his face, and all he could do was stare at Richard's mother with eyes wide in shock – as the way Lady Eleanor was looking at him made quite clear that she was aware of the true nature of the love that tied her son to his minstrel. He swallowed and tried to speak, to deny what wasn't to deny any longer, but she put a gentle finger onto his lips._

“ _The heart of a mother has only one wish for her children, that they will find true love and be loved for themselves and not for their power and status. Your love for my son is true and selfless. The burden of a crown weighs heavily, Lord Nesle, and I find peace in the knowledge that your love will ease his burden whenever he'll need it. I don't care about how you will express your love for him, all that matters to me is his happiness and that you will always treat his love and trust for you as the precious and outstanding treasure and gift it actually is.”_

“ _I will, Milady,” Atlan promised her, bowing his head before her, and he knew that he would rather die and never see Arkon again instead of breaking that promise, no matter what the future would bring._

_*~*~*_

_Atlan reined his white stallion Sunracer when the towers of the imperial castle came into sight. His Arab snorted reproachfully, and the Arkonide patted his shiny white neck with a gloved hand to soothe him._

_He'd stayed in Aquitaine and had remained at Lady Eleanor's side until they had gotten the news that Richard would soon be brought to Castle Trifels to remain in Heinrich's custody until he would be allowed to defend his case and explain himself to the various powerful European sovereigns who had taken Heinrich's side and were impatient to see the tall English monarch stumble and fall._

_There would be the demand for a high ransom, that much was clear, and Lady Eleanor had decided to leave France and take the next ship to England to ensure that each single household of the British Islands would add what they could afford to bring the ransom up and buy her son's freedom back again as fast as possible._

_Atlan had actually thought that the royal lady would request his company for that difficult task, but Eleanor of Aquitaine had lifted her chin up in pride and defiance and said._

“ _I of all people must know how it feels to be imprisoned by someone you'd thought that you could trust them. My deceased husband kept me trapped in a tower for years, and I felt like a bird in a cage, tied to its prison with a golden chain around its leg. My heart is breaking at the thought that the light of my eyes, the child so close to my motherly heart, has to endure the same now – and this without any friendly face and kind soul offering comfort when he needs it the most, Lord Nesle._

_Therefore, I want you to travel to Castle Trifels and carry the letter I have written for my son close to your heart so he will receive it without further delay. I ask you – no, I beg you – to stay with him and be his light in the darkness until my loving arms will hold him again. Will you do that for me, Blondel of Nesle? Will you ease the heavy weight of his iron chains and be the flame of hope and love in the darkness of his prison for me?”_

“ _I will, Lady Eleanor,” Atlan had said, and he had left her an hour later with her letter for her son kept safely in a small velvety bag that he wore around his neck right over his heart, next to his cellular regenerator. Sunracer had been the Queen's farewell gift for him, the son of Richard's beloved mare Starlight, and the white Arab had carried him on his back without ever faltering in his steps as if he sensed his rider's anxiety and longing to reunite with his beloved king again._

_Not long and he would see the face of his beloved coeur de Lion again, the Terranian who would even have gained the respect and admiration of Atlan's powerful royal family so easily – if they would ever have had the chance to meet each other._

_The Arkonide sometimes wondered about Richard's likely reaction to the revelation that he hadn't fallen in love with a young French lord and minstrel, but with the offspring of the most powerful family of the entire galaxy at that time - and how such a knowledge would change his lover's faith in his Almighty God and in everything he'd valued and believed to be true. He would never know the answer to these questions, though, as he could never tell his king who he truly was, and the weight of his hated but necessary deception weighed heavily on his shoulders._

“ _Come on, boy. Only few more miles to go, and then you will be fed and taken care of,” Atlan encouraged his stallion to fall into a slow trot again, and the white horse did, carrying his white-haired rider all the steep way up to Castle Trifels where he would hopefully soon see his Lionheart again._

_*~*~*_

_Emperor Heinrich's loyal vassal Sir Walter awaited Atlan not in the great hall where the young emperor usually resided himself when he visited the imperial castle, seated on the throne-like armchair to discourage any bold and disrespectful demeanor towards his person or the crown he represented right from the beginning._

_Instead, the Arkonide in the disguise of a minstrel was brought to a rather small room that apparently served as both, an office and a salon to welcome those kind of travelers and guests that did not belong to the inner circle of Heinrich's court or the highest families of European aristocracy._

_Atlan was fine with that, and he wouldn't have cared about paying his respects to the Keeper of Castle Trifels in the kitchen if he was just granted access to Richard's chambers afterwards._

'What a demise – from the designated Crystal Prince and next Imperator to a simple Terranian nobleman,' _his logic sector made itself be a nuisance for him once more, and Atlan had to suppress his frustrated growl and eye roll because he suspected that the older nobleman would misinterpret it as a display of insolence towards his own person and not react kindly to such an affront._

_To hide his irritated glance, Atlan bent his head a bit more, his entire appearance and posture being the perfect picture of a humble supplicant who didn't even know how to wield a sword properly._

“ _Her royal highness Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine herself sent me to prove her cooperation and goodwill to his imperial majesty – and to ensure that her beloved son will know about the unwavering faith of his subjects and their strong belief in him and the emperor's mercy and kindness that their beloved monarch will return to them unharmed.”_

_Sir Walter slowly nodded his head. He possessed kind eyes that were seeing far too much for Atlan's liking, and there was the faintest of a knowing hint in his smile when he leaned back against the tall backrest of his heavy wooden chair to regard his visitor thoughtfully._

“ _His imperial majesty will be pleased about Milady Eleanor's cooperation,” he stated, and Atlan wanted to object against the wrong addressing of Richard's beloved mother and opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut again when his logic sector thankfully silenced him before he could make a fool of himself._

'He's doing that on purpose to provoke you and see your reaction. Sir Walter's loyalty belongs to his own ruler, not to your king. Upsetting him won't gain you anything.'

_Atlan knew that his logic sector was right, and he schooled his features back into a mask of humble politeness and devotion, but the spark flashing in Sir Walter's eyes told him that his rebellious reaction hadn't gone unnoticed._

“ _Your mount is in the best hands possible with my equerry, and you must be tired after your long and straining journey, Lord Nesle.” was all the faithful vassal said, though, rising to his feet and ending their talk with that. Emperor Heinrich wasn't here at the moment, and Sir Walter had made perfectly clear that he was the one in charge while his imperial ruler was busied with other things. The powerful Ministeriale was the one deciding whether or not Atlan was allowed to see Richard – and if there would be guards within earshot and watching their every single move, then._

“ _Seeing my king and assuring him that his beloved mother is well and doing everything she can do to ensure his freedom is my most pressing concern, Milord.” Atlan stood as well, not willing to let himself be dismissed without the promise that he was granted permission to talk to his royal friend and lover as soon as possible. As Lord Nesle, he was actually of higher rank than the Ministeriale, but if calling him 'Milord' would get him the permission he longed for, then Atlan would happily call him that._

_Another brief knowing smile ghosted over the features of the older man. “Don't strain yourself, Lord Nesle. You will be allowed to see your king after you have taken a bath, enjoyed a light meal and gotten some rest. You do not want to worry your monarch with your poor appearance and make him doubt the kindness and outstanding hospitality of his imperial... host, do you?”_

_Put it like that, Atlan had no other choice than to agree to Sir Walter's proposal, which was actually nothing else other than a clear order wrapped in courteous diplomacy._

“ _No, of course not, Milord,” he agreed with a false smile plastered all over his face, and Sir Walter's eyes lit up in amusement._

“ _Sir Walter is it for you, Lord Nesle, and you know that quite well,” he chided him gently, and his expression softened when he saw the worries in Atlan's red eyes. “Your sovereign is well and will be allowed to talk to you privately – when you have recovered from your straining journey.” He rang a bell, and the door opened almost instantly to reveal a young man standing on the threshold and waiting for Sir Walter's next orders._

“ _Lord Nesle will stay in the guest quarters next to his majesty. Have a bath tub and a light meal brought there, Erik. Lord Nesle came here without his manservant, you will serve him as long as he enjoys our hospitality, lad.”_

_The young man addressed as Erik bowed his head before his master. “Yes, Sir Walter,” he murmured, casting Atlan a quick glance from under his lashes. “If you want to follow me please, Milord...”_

_Atlan hesitated for a split second as he gifted Heinrich's vassal with a last appraising glance, but he knew when he was defeated, and so he followed the handsome young man to the guest quarters located on the highest floor of the tower of Castle Trifels, hoping that Sir Walter would keep his promise and let him talk to his coeur de Lion without any guards watching them. Hope was the last thing to die, and Atlan was not the man to give up hope so easily._

_*~*~*_

_The door closed behind Atlan, and he stopped a few steps behind it, suddenly feeling uncertain and shy when his gaze fell on Richard's tall figure again after all those far too long months of separation._

_The English sovereign was standing before the small barred window, and he slowly turned his head around now with a wary expression on his face to see who was disturbing his solitude. Atlan let his eyes feast on the sight of his familiar and beloved features, a sight he'd been missing for far too long, and his heart sped up to beat hard and fast in his chest when their eyes locked and several emotions ghosted over the king's face._

“ _Your majesty!” he heard himself croak out, sinking down onto his knees without thinking. So many months had passed since they'd said farewell to each other, so many things had happened, and in this moment, Atlan was not the proud Arkonide, equal to Richard in status as the Crystal Prince he'd once been, but he was just the simple young lord Blondel de Nesle who'd sworn himself to his king. The role he'd been playing for years did not feel like a role and perception any longer, but so real that he had difficulties with remembering his real name for a moment._

_Richard frowned, and he stalked over to where Atlan was kneeling on the stony floor, bending forward to put his royal right under Atlan's chin. “'Your majesty', my friend?” he asked gently, “am I not your coeur de Lion any longer, Blondel, now that I'm a prisoner?”_

_The white-haired Arkonide swallowed, raising his head to meet Richard's eyes again._

“ _You will always be my coeur de Lion, your majesty. Nothing will ever change that,” he whispered, and he allowed the king to pull him back onto his feet._

“ _And you will always be the song of my heart, Blondel,” Richard breathed into his ear when they were standing face to face, so close to each other that Atlan could feel the other man's warm breath on his skin. “The memory of your voice has kept me warm during all those cold and lonely nights, so will you please sing for your lonesome king, my minstrel?”_

“ _I will, mon coeur de Lion,” Atlan said with a smile, his eyes fluttering shut when Richard's lips touched his mouth in a feather-light brief kiss. He was finally home again, reunited with the one he loved, and this was all that mattered._

_*~*~*_

_The days and weeks passed quickly now that they were together again, and soon Richard had to defend himself before the council in Worms._

_Atlan couldn't avert his eyes from the king's tall figure, and his royal friend and lover had never reminded him more of a lion than he did now, standing before Heinrich's throne and speaking with so much passion and pride. The noblemen and ladies that had come to witness his speech were all moved to tears, but Heinrich remained unforgiving and set up a ransom of hundred thousand silver marks. The Plantagenet listened to the younger ruler's demands with a stoic face, and he looked so much like a true lion with his proud posture, his thick shock of golden-brown hair and his well-trimmed beard that the crowd started to murmur and whisper in barely contained admiration._

_Atlan could hardly suppress a gasp when he heard the sum of money Heinrich VI. demanded from his royal hostage, and he knew that Richard's mother Eleanor would need a long time to bring up such a huge amount of money, but the Arkonide had no doubts that she would not rest in her attempts and finally succeed and buy her son's freedom back._

_The young emperor decided to keep his royal hostage close by his side after the council in Worms, and charmed by the beautiful voice of Richard's faithful bard, he allowed Atlan to stay with his sovereign and travel with them. They days were filled with exhausting rides to the next palace and the duties that came with being part of Heinrich's court and Richard's government affairs, but the nights belonged to him and Richard only when another opulent feast had come to an end at last, the dark hours of the nights becoming a symbol of their forbidden love for each other._

“ _You've never told me what this jewel means to you, song of my heart.”_

_The moon was shining onto their naked bodies as they were lying side by side and slowly recovering from their shared passion. Richard reached out with his hand to touch the cellular activator hanging on a silver necklace around Atlan's neck, and the Arkonide swallowed, uncertain about what to answer to this question._

_It wasn't the first time that people wanted to know why he was wearing this egg-like and not really fancy-looking device day and night, never taking it off willingly, and of course he'd been questioned about his activator by some of his lovers beforehand as well. Usually, he wouldn't hesitate to tell the stories and lies he'd set up long ago to distract others from the bio-technical device, but to his surprise he found himself wishing that he could tell Richard the truth about himself – and about the cellular activator that granted him immortality._

_But it was far too dangerous to do that, and Atlan took Richard's elegant fingers between his own to pull them away from his precious possession and kiss his fingertips. His skin was still glowing and tingling from their lovemaking, and he lifted his head from the king's shoulder to smile at him._

“ _This is the vault where I keep your love, mon coeur de Lion,” he whispered in between the gentle kisses, “as long as I'll wear it, you will always be with me.”_

_Richard looked up at him with searching eyes, and his answering smile was resigned and accepting. “So you will not tell me what it really is, song of my heart? You are still such a mysterious man to me, Blondel.”_

“ _Mysteries will keep the magic of our souls alive, my love. It is better for us not to try to solve them and chase the magic away. Some mysteries need to be left untouched and unsolved, so the magic will remain in our hearts,” Atlan breathed against his mouth, and he didn't object when Richard pushed him down onto his back to claim his heart and his body again as an answer to his words._

_The Arkonide had never been the man surrendering to another one so easily, but it felt so right to give himself to his Lionheart, and he closed his eyes and welcomed Richard in his arms and his body, returning his passionate kisses and thrusts with the same desire and despair. The shadow of a forthcoming threat was looming over them, Atlan could feel it, and he pulled him closer as they lost themselves in the throes of passion for a second time, hoping that his love would be enough to save one of the bravest men he'd ever known in his whole oh-so-long life._

_*~*~*_

_The air was sticky and reeking of sickness and death._

_Atlan sat beside Richard's sickbed, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead that was building there faster than he could actually wipe it away with his cloth._

_It had been one single bolt, shot by a skilled crossbowman, such an actually rather small piece made of wood and iron that would end Richard's existence on Earth and bereave so many people of their admired and beloved king._

_Atlan did his best not to let his inner turmoil show on his face, but everything inside him was screaming in agony. It would have been so easy for him to save his coeur de Lion if he had only more time left. But the return to his station deep down in the Atlantic Ocean would cost him too much time, time Richard didn't have any more. The deep wound in his shoulder had become inflamed, and Richard Plantagenet, King of England and Duke of Aquitaine, was dying._

_He was still so young, not even forty, but the wouldn't see the sun rise again, and all Atlan could do was to sing for him as his faithful minstrel and stay by his side until the lion's heart would stop beating._

“ _Blondel?”_

_Richard's voice was barely more than a whisper, and Atlan had to bend down to understand him._

“ _Yes, mon coeur de Lion?”_

“ _Promise me one thing, song of my heart.” Richard breathed, and Atlan stroked over the beloved lines too many battles had carved into the king's face._

“ _Everything, my king.” he croaked out, his vision blurring with the tears he didn't allow himself to cry._

“ _Promise me that you will never take off the vault you're carrying over your heart. The vault with my undying love for you. Promise me that you will always keep it close to your heart. As long as you do so, you will not forget your coeur de Lion.”_

_Atlan bent his head deeper to press a gentle kiss onto Richard's forehead, and he took the king's cold fingers between his own warm ones to cradle them against his chest._

“ _I will never forget you, Richard, no matter how old I will become, nor will the world forget about you. People will tell and sing about the lion's brave heart even after centuries have passed. The world will still know you, and I will still love you. Nothing will ever change that.”_

_Richard's smile was weak, but heartbreakingly beautiful._

“ _Then I will die as a happy man, Blondel,” he whispered, and Atlan smiled back and kissed him, singing for his Lionheart throughout the entire night, until the sun started to rise again and Richard's heart stopped beating._


	3. Past and Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atlan has told Rhodan the story of Richard the Lionheart and his minstrel Blondel - the real story behind the saga.  
> How will Perry react? Will he be shocked or disgusted and leave, or will he stay and something great and wonderful happen after Atlan's confession that he has been in love with another man before?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, well, I'm not good at writing short stories as it would seem, so there will be another chapter, I fear. Writing Perry and Atlan is special to me, as they have accompanied me for so long and actually been my first OTP since ages ago, and I really hope that I'll get their special relationship and dynamic right and do their first time actually becoming lovers real justice. <33

It was always difficult to come back to reality when his photographic memory had flooded him with so many vivid pictures from a long gone past; when past and present intermingled and became one for some time - right after he'd been thrown back into another life that felt so much realer than his current life appeared to be and he struggled to wake up from what lingered like a far too vivid dream.

All the details, the images and colors, the sounds, smells and tastes, it felt as though it had just happened yesterday to him, even when centuries or even thousands of years had actually passed.

Atlan blinked, and he could feel that his cheeks were wet from the moisture his eyes started to produce each time he was wary, upset or deeply emotionally moved. He was still so trapped in his memories, and yet so acutely aware of Rhodan's presence that his body reacted with the primal instinctive fight-or-flight response to the heavy tension that was filling the entire garden all of a sudden, and he was having a hard time with staying where he was and remaining seated in the grass next to his friend.

He hadn't wanted to tell the remarkable Terranian so much about Richard and their relationship, and he didn't dare to turn his head and look his friend in the eyes for several long seconds.

“So you were more than just friends.”

Rhodan's calm statement broke the silence at last, and Atlan swallowed around the thick lump in his throat and finally turned his head to face whatever emotion might be displayed on the other man's face – whether it was disgust, hate, anger, betrayal or contempt, Atlan would take it like a man and accept it. He even felt relieved that the truth was finally out, and that he didn't need to hide his feelings any longer.

Their gazes locked, and Atlan lost himself in the depths of Rhodan's silver-gray eyes, sheer bottomless ponds that drew him in and made him feel like drowning in them.

“Yes, we were. Much more than just friends.” he croaked out, unable to look away when the Terranian held his gaze so easily with his own, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

“What happened after his death? Did you go back to your Atlantic station afterwards?” Rhodan asked in the same calm and quiet voice after a moment or two, his thoughtful glance never leaving Atlan's pale face. His skin was burning, but he felt cold from the inside at the same time, and he knew that his face had lost every ounce of color because of the still so painful memories.

“No. I wanted to, to forget everything that had happened, but Eleanor of Aquitaine had lost her most beloved son – and she'd had to bury all of her sons except for John even before she had to mourn Richard's death, I simply couldn't leave her alone in her grief. I stayed with her until she found her final rest in Abbey Fontevrault right beside him, and then I went back to my station and let the robots put me in stasis for another few hundred years.”

Atlan felt almost ashamed that he had tried to escape his grief about Richard's death this way, but Rhodan just nodded his head, his thoughtful and controlled expression never changing.

“You're still here,” he murmured when another silence started to stretch between them, and a brief smile ghosted over Rhodan's haggard features, his eyes glowing silver in the light of the glistening starlight of M13.

“Of course I'm still here, Arkonide. Did you really believe that a story about true and unquestioning love would deter me away? I'd thought that you'd know me better than that, Atlan.” Rhodan's voice was still quiet, but there was an undertone audible in it now, a slight hoarseness Atlan hadn't expected to hear.

“Love between two men.” he said, even though it wasn't necessary.

Rhodan inclined his head again. “Yes, I know, Atlan. That part was not to miss.” He leaned back against the tree, his fingers playing absently with the bottle between his knees.

“During my early years as an Air Force pilot, I was deployed in Germany for a couple of years before I joined the Space Program of the US Air Force. In Ramstein, which was the biggest and most important US airbase outside the States for years. The region is beautiful and perfect if you want to clear your head, and I spent a lot of time with hiking through the thick forests back then. One weekend, I actually came to visit the castle where your king was held captive.

There was an exhibition in the museum that belonged to the castle, and one part of said exhibition was about the old saga which tells the story of Richard the Lionheart and his faithful minstrel Blondel - who searched for him singing their special song, and who came to his king's rescue when he'd found him. I really liked their story, but I would never have thought that I would ever get the chance to meet Richard's savior personally one day when I looked at his picture all those years ago.”

The First Administrator of the Solar Empire chewed on his bottom lip as he regarded his Arkonidian friend as if he'd never really seen him beforehand. “The pictures of Blondel of that exhibition didn't do you real justice, though, old man.” Rhodan's tone was light now, teasing, and Atlan felt his heart beating hard and fast against the bone-plates of his chest that protected it.

“How can you say that after having seen the real me today, Perry?” he wanted to know, his voice heavy with all the emotions he could hardly keep at bay any longer. “Today you have been confronted with the ugly truth and seen what's left of me when you take my disguise and pretense away from me, so how can you say that those pictures didn't do me any justice? The opposite is true.” Atlan hated the desperate sound of his voice, but the last seventy-two hours had worn him out, and he didn't have any protecting walls left he could hide himself behind after all that had happened today.

Rhodan's face softened when he saw the hurt and despair carved into Atlan's face, and he released the bottle of wine from his grip to reach out and touch Atlan's trembling hands clenched in his lap with his warm fingers.

“I didn't see anything ugly today, Atlan. All I saw was a friend in need, a friend I could not bear losing him. Each time I look at you, I see the real you. The man behind the controlled mask of the arrogant and proud Arkonidian aristocrat you prefer to put on when others are around. I have learned to look behind your mask and see the truth hidden under the thick layers of disguise and false identities you had to live with for such an incredibly long time because you simply had no other choice if you wanted to survive and make it back home one day. Besides, do you really think that I would look any different if 'IT' chose to deny me the cellular shower the next time?”

Atlan looked down at their intertwined fingers, and he felt humble and at a loss for words. Rhodan was actually much more closed up when it came to his personal feelings than he himself usually was, and Perry's little speech had touched him deeply. His paler skin built an interesting contrast to Perry's slightly tanned flesh, and he lifted the other man's right hand to his mouth without thinking to breathe a gentle kiss onto it.

There was a rustling sound beside him, and when he opened his eyes he had closed without even realizing, Rhodan sat very close to him and regarded him intently.

“Sometimes, Terra – Earth – feels so much more like home than Arkon actually does,” Atlan murmured, afraid to react to the wordless invitation he could see in Perry's eyes. He knew that he was buying himself some more time again, and silver sparks of amusement flashed in the dark orbs because Rhodan knew him far too well for his own liking.

“I guess that comes naturally when you have been away from home for so many millennia and lived on another planet for the same amount of time...” he added, and a small shiver ran down on his back when Rhodan's sensitive lips twitched into a brief smile.

“It must be our 'barbarian' charm that has trapped you at last,” the gray-eyed Terranian snorted, and Atlan licked over his suddenly dry lips, his gaze glued to Rhodan's mouth.

“Probably. And the irresistible charm of one 'barbarian' in special.” Their lips were only inches apart now, and Rhodan's wine-flavored warm breath ghosted over Atlan's damp cheeks. He could see the silver sparks dancing in Perry's eyes so clearly, and he knew that his own eyes had darkened to a deep golden red that gave his desire away to the other man.

“I really don't know what you could possibly mean, Arkonide,” Perry let out a breathless chuckle, but he leaned in even closer, and when their lips finally touched after what felt like another ten thousand years to Atlan, but what couldn't have been more than perhaps two seconds, it really felt like eventually coming home to him.

*~*~*

Perry's lips were soft and warm, and the way they pressed against his own was eager and shy at the same time. They both wanted this, wanted it more than anything and had wanted it to happen for a very long time, but they were also both still uncertain and testing the waters, not deepening their kiss for several long seconds and content with just moving their lips against each other in a light and soft touch.

Atlan's mind was spinning, the long gone past when he'd last kissed another man still faintly present in the back of his memory. Even his logic sector was silenced thoroughly for the time being, for which the Arkonide was really grateful. He couldn't move or take the next step and deepen their kiss, and it was Rhodan who made an impatient sound deep in his throat after another minute or so, reaching out with his hands to wrap them around Atlan's neck and shoulder to pull him closer and lick over his closed lips with the tip of his tongue as he was looking for entrance.

Atlan let him in with a desperate keening noise of his own, and their kiss turned into a heated battle of teeth, tongues and lips quickly as their long suppressed desire for each other finally broke free with full force. He was burning from the inside, the fire of his desire blazing unrestrained through his veins, and it had to be the same for Perry, because the Terranian growled fiercely into his mouth and pushed his tongue deep into Atlan's mouth to claim and explore it like he conquered worlds and entire star systems – and how he would eventually conquer the whole galaxy, the white-haired Arkonide was sure of that.

His own ancestors had already flown between the stars and ruled over so many worlds and species when those little Terranian barbarians had been using fire stones as weapons, and yet all the ten-thousand-year old immortal could do was surrender to the passionate onslaught on his mouth and kiss his friend back with the despair of a man dying of thirst who'd just found the only well in an endless desert.

Their tongues met in another fierce battle when Atlan's arms came up to pull Perry against his aching body, and they only parted when they ran out of breath and started to feel lightheaded with the lack of oxygen. Atlan didn't want to let go of Perry's mouth, he didn't want to miss the warmth and softness of his lips, and he was suddenly afraid to meet his eyes and find pity in Rhodan's gaze, pity and perhaps lust, but nothing more.

“Hey.” Surprisingly gentle fingers, calloused and warm, cupped his chin to make Atlan look at Perry, those fingers that had bent the bow to shoot the Anti priest, the same fingers that had pressed the cellular activator against his shrinking chest in the very last minute.

The Arkonide swallowed and raised his red-golden eyes to look at his friend, and the silver fire he could see burning in Rhodan's passionate glance stole his breath from his lips. He had worried about nothing, that was clear to see, and Atlan crashed their mouths together again in another deep kiss with the wave of relief surging through him. Rhodan groaned when their teeth clattered together, but he didn't pull back, just buried his fingers in the tousled strands of Atlan's long white hair to ruffle them even more. They were half sitting and half kneeling in the soft green grass, illuminated by the cold light of thousands of stars and vulnerable, an easy target to any possible assassin that might have found a way to make it past the guards and robots, but Atlan was far too gone to care about that.

It was the Terranian who tore himself away from their ardent embrace at last, those sensitive lips of his red and swollen where Atlan's teeth had grazed them, his short hair tousled as well, and his gray eyes black with arousal.

“Is there any chance to make it to your imperial bedroom without stumbling over your fussing servants, old man?” Perry's voice was raw and husky, and it did things to Atlan he hadn't felt in centuries, literally. “Tell me that you know a way to your quarters without causing a serious political and diplomatic incident, Imperator.”

Atlan blinked to clear his lust-fogged mind, which proved to be much more difficult than it should be, but it had been so long since he'd been burning with such desire, his need to lose himself in Rhodan's passionate arms and his kisses so strong that he could barely think straight any longer.

“I'm not sure, you could ask Gucky to teleport us there,” he murmured, and his words were only halfway meant as a joke to ease the unbearable tension that was suddenly thickening the warm air surrounding them.

Rhodan stared at him incredulously for a moment, and he barked a breathless laugh, something between a disbelieving snort and a mocking chuckle.

“Even though I actually trust Gucky to keep our secrets, Arkonide, but the sight of you all flushed, ruffled and worked up like that is nothing I will share with anybody else, so you'll better get yourself together and think about another solution for... our problem, Imperator. And think fast, my patience has been tested far too often over the past days.”

“Don't get bossy like that, barbarian,” Atlan retorted, but the heavy shiver wrecking his frame visibly betrayed his excitement about Rhodan's demeanor, and the gray-eyed Terranian let out another throaty chuckle.

“You actually like it pretty much when I'm 'bossy' how you've put it. Don't think that I didn't notice that in the past, old man.”

“Hrrrrmmmpfff.” Atlan pulled him in for another hard and passionate kiss to silence him, but he knew that Perry was actually right with what he'd said – and that his friend was actually much more attentive and far less oblivious when it came to love entanglements than he'd given him credit for.

“Your bedroom, Imperator,” Rhodan reminded him urgently when he drew back from the tempting mouth reluctantly, and Atlan suppressed a moan and struggled to his feet when the younger man offered him his hand to help him find his equilibrium again.

“Yes, I think I know a way there without running into my guards,” he murmured when his photographic memory flashed with an image of the construction plan of the Crystal Palace. It was the plan from ten millennia ago, but most of the construction was actually still the same, and he was positive that he would find the hidden doors leading to his private quarters without too many difficulties.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let's go,” Rhodan urged him on, and Atlan turned around and headed along the small path back to the center of the huge palace, sure that the Terranian would follow him. He felt young and elated all of a sudden, so much younger and more vibrant than he'd felt ever since he'd woken up in his station in the Atlantic Ocean the last time, the weight of ten thousand years falling off of him with each step that brought him closer to their destination.

Atlan didn't know what the future would have in store for him, and whether or not he and Perry would actually cross the line and become more than just friends, but one thing he knew for sure.

He would make the best out this night and savor it to the fullest and without any regrets, no matter of what tomorrow would bring.

*~*~*

The secret passage to his private chambers was short but to Atlan it felt like they had to walk for a thousand miles at least, and when they finally reached their shelter, they turned to each other at the same time instantly, hands and lips reaching out to claim and explore unknown territory and become familiar with it.

Atlan was drowning in Rhodan's enticing scent and his taste as he dabbed frantic kisses along the Terranian's prominent jawline, the soft tickling of the dark-blond stubble that was about to grow again after the last shaving hours ago sending thrills of anticipation down on his spine, and it took him a moment until the hoarse whisper Perry breathed against his burning cheeks in return crept into his focus.

“W-what?” he blinked and tried to crane his head back to catch sight of the other man's face, but Rhodan dug his short nails into his scalp and his hopelessly ruffled white mane to pull him close again.

“Don't do that again, Arkonide, don't ever do that to me again,” The First Administrator of the Solar Empire croaked out between heated kisses.

“Do what?” Atlan's brain was trying to catch up on what he'd been missing, and failed doing so, his need to just rip the gala uniform from the lean and hard-muscled body pressing against his own erasing any other coherent thought from his mind.

“Don't ever scare me like that, don't you dare almost dying under my hands ever again, Atlan, not by any means. I can't lose you, I just can't...” Rhodan's voice trailed off, its sound so broken, and he captured Atlan's swollen lips in another desperate and bruising kiss before the ten-thousand-year old immortal Arkonide had the chance to respond. The pull at his long white hair was painful, but Atlan didn't try to free himself from the hard grip, the pain shooting through his skull grounding him and giving him some of his reason back.

He took control of their kiss to soothe it into one more tender than passionate, and to his astonishment Rhodan let him and just made a small whimpering noise when he attempted to chase after Atlan's lips. That he'd finally called him by his name instead of using the nick names he usually preferred to call him by was a clear evidence of the inner turmoil and storm of emotions raging inside Rhodan, barely contained and threatening to break loose at any minute and rolling over them like a hurricane.

The First Administrator of the Solar Empire, who had once been a major of the US Air Force, never hesitated to show emotions when he was speaking about his dream to bring his beloved Terranians up to the stars – or the stars to them – about his vision of a galaxy united in peace and friendship, or when Terra was in danger and he had to defend his beloved home world against an unknown and far more technically advanced lethal enemy.

But when it came to his own private emotions, to his longing for companionship, love and passion he had like any other sentient and intelligent being, he was as closed up and hiding himself and his deepest needs and desires behind impregnable walls, afraid to show them and become vulnerable if he did that. That he allowed Atlan to look behind those walls now, admitting aloud that he couldn't bear losing him, was one of the most precious gifts the white-haired immortal had ever received in his incredibly long life.

The Arkonide cupped Rhodan's face with both hands, and the Terranian blinked, the liquid silver of his emotional gaze reflecting in the red-golden fire of love and desire shining in Atlan's eyes.

“I'm sorry, little barbarian, so, so sorry,” The heir of an once so proud Arkonidian house whispered, and his raw tender voice betrayed his own deep feelings for the other man, despite the pet name that had started as a mocking challenge and had now an entirely different meaning to both of them.

“I never wanted to be the cause of such fear and sorrow, you know that, don't you?” Atlan stroked over Perry's cheeks with his thumbs, and Rhodan allowed the small sigh that sounded more like a sob to escape his lips and leaned their foreheads together. He was still holding the bottle of wine in one hand, and the green glass was pressing into Atlan's back where the younger one was clinging to him in a tight embrace, but the Arkonide couldn't have cared less. He needed this as much as his friend did, and he moved to press a gentle kiss onto Rhodan's forehead in a silent apology.

“Yes, I know. I know that you didn't... just don't ever do that to me again, okay?” Atlan could see Rhodan's Adam's apple move as the Terranian swallowed, melting against the Arkonide's broader frame. “I need you. You don't know how much I need you, Arkonide – you'll never know how much. So please spare me a repetition of today's events, will you?”

Rhodan's words were so close to a declaration of love that Atlan's throat tightened as if an invisible pair of giant hands would suffocate him. He tried to speak, cleared his throat painfully to get rid of the huge lump sitting there, and tried it again.

“I'll do my best, friend, I promise you by all gods and the house of Gonozal.” he croaked out, and Perry gifted him with a light chuckle, clearly trying to ease the mood and find back to their usual lighthearted banter.

“By the house of Gonozal, huh? You're serious about that, I can see that old man.”

“You bet I am, little barbarian. Now shut up and kiss me again so I can teach you a lesson about the finesses of Arkonidian courtship.” Atlan growled and pulled Perry's face closer to devour him with another passionate kiss. Desire was pulsing in his veins, demanding release from the fire burning in his groin, and his kiss was more hungry and desperate than skilled and of the finesse he'd just been talking about.”

Perry kissed him back with equal hunger and enthusiasm, but he grinned mischievously at the white-haired immortal when they had to pull back for air.

“Arkonidian finesses, really? That was more what I would have expected from an ancient Terranian conqueror. We barbarians ruined you for Arkonidian finesses quite thoroughly, didn't we?” he laughed, ducking away under Atlan's grip when he reached out to pull him close and silence him once more. Atlan watched him putting the bottle onto the nightstand beside the huge canopy bed before the Terranian turned around to look at him, standing there with slightly spread legs and his left hand on his hip.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Rhodan's eyes wrinkled with another smile, and he crooked his right forefinger at him to beckon him closer.

“I'm right here, Arkonide, and I promise you to be an eager student for whatever you want to teach me tonight.” he said, and Atlan balled his fists in the creases of his splendid imperial robes and stalked closer, a white lion cornering his willing prey to drag it into his den and have his way with it.

Rhodan's eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw the look on Atlan's face, his pupils dilating to black rounds and his nostrils flaring as the air became thick with pheromones of male arousal. The Terranian held his ground, craning his head a little to stare into Atlan's dark-golden eyes with something akin to defiance, and the next thing Atlan knew was that they were kissing again, deep and messy, while pulling at their clothes and moaning into each other's mouths.

Shaking hands and trembling fingers were reaching for fastenings, buttons and zippers without giving any consideration to the expensive garments they wanted to remove, and Rhodan's gala uniform landed on the floor in a crumpled heap next to Atlan's velvety and silken robes in their haste to finally feel each other naked and without any disturbing barrier between them.

Their friendship and familiarity with one another helped them to make it through the few awkward moments that were inevitable as they hopped on one foot to liberate themselves from their footwear without breaking their kiss, and soon enough Atlan was pressing Rhodan onto the mattress of the huge bed and Perry was pulling Atlan's body over his own to bury his hands in the long white strands of his mane and lick into his mouth again.

Atlan was on fire, drunk with love and desire for the astonishing man in his arms, humbled and immensely grateful that Rhodan let his guard down like he'd never done it before, the usually so closed up and controlled, sometimes even shy and clumsy First Administrator allowing the passionate man that was hidden deep inside the galactic politician and longing for love like anybody else to rise to the surface and take over control for a few precious hours.

He raised his head to regard Rhodan's face, glowing in the lights of the candles Atlan's devoted servant had lit up earlier, his lips red and swollen from the bruising kisses they had shared. Perry looked up at him silently, but without holding anything back, and Atlan drew in a shaky breath and pressed a soft chaste kiss onto his mouth as he stroked a damp strand of dark-blond hair out of his forehead.

“I need you, Perry, I need to have you... please?” the Arkonide breathed against his lips, and Rhodan's eyes flashed with barely controlled desire and lust.

“I need to feel you just as much, Atlan,” Perry assured him gently, offering his vulnerable throat to him when Atlan's ardent gaze fell onto the shimmering flesh, and he stroked over his shoulders and down on his back to cup his backside and press their bodies together where they were both so hard and yearning for each other.

Atlan responded to the invitation and sucked at the fragrant skin that covered Rhodan's collarbone, not caring that he left bruises there that would still be visible the next day if they didn't use a dermal regenerator. Rhodan didn't seem to care about being marked like this either, quite the opposite. He arched into the touch and pressed Atlan's mouth firmly against his neck with a low moan, moving his hips in the urgent need for some friction on his leaking manhood.

They both groaned with the sensation of their cocks sliding against each other, already slick with precome and throbbing with the need for release. Hands were roaming over warm skin and smooth flesh as they started to explore the still so unknown terrain, stroking, kneading and caressing each other's bodies in rapturous ministration.

It had been so long since Atlan had last felt like this, and as much as he'd loved the two special men he'd known long before Perry Rhodan had even been born, but the ten-thousand-year old Arkonide was fairly sure that he'd never felt the way he did now, never experienced such deep love and passion for any other being in this universe – even more as he'd always known that his love for them was doomed to come to an end far too soon, as neither of his former lovers had been immortal like him.

But Perry was.

Receiving the cellular shower from 'IT' on a regular basis he could get killed by weapons, but he didn't age any longer, still looking like the man in his mid-thirties he'd been when he'd gotten the cellular shower for the first time. There were lines on his face, but they came from the things he'd lived through and experienced and were not caused by the natural aging of his body each living being in the galaxy experienced under normal circumstances.

Perry was like him, an immortal, and this important fact separated both of them from all the others who were not, and brought them closer together like nothing else could.

Atlan kissed his way down to Perry's chest, teasing the two pink nipples crowning the hard hills of the Terranian's sculpted breast into tiny hard knobs with his tongue and his teeth until the other man arched his back with a low groan vibrating deep in his chest and against Atlan's lips. Rhodan pulled at Atlan's white hair, and the Arkonide obeyed his unspoken order and moved back upwards again to claim his mouth with another deep kiss.

“Do you have anything at hand for...” Rhodan's voice trailed off, his cheeks flushing red with obvious embarrassment as he found himself unable to voice his need and his concern. The white-haired Arkonide felt a hot wave of tenderness course through him, and he kissed him again, stroking his cheek gently as he smiled down at him.

“It's a good thing that the servants the Robot Regent chose to see to my imperial needs are thorough and very efficient. There must be some massage oil on the nightstand that would be perfect for what we both want, love.” he murmured against Perry's flushed skin, and the endearment slipped so easily from his lips and felt so right as he used it for this amazing man for the first time.

“Being an Arkonidian Imperator has its merits as I have to admit.” Rhodan relaxed and melted into Atlan's arms, for once happy to let his beloved friend take the lead and prepare him with tenderness and the experience from millennia.

Atlan took the vial with the fragrant oil to coat the fingers of his imperial right with the smooth liquid, and Perry's legs fell open of their own accord when he snaked his hand between them. He took his time and explored Perry's most intimate parts until the younger man was as relaxed as possible given that a long time had passed since they had last been together with another man. It had been centuries for himself, and the Arkonide still wasn't even sure whether or not his little barbarian – the man he loved more than life itself – had actually ever lain with another male before tonight at all.

His whole body was throbbing with the overwhelming need to sheathe himself in the tight heat of Perry's body, but he ignored the ache in his groin and his rock-hard manhood and focused on the way his passionate lover was pressing himself against his thigh, smearing small droplets of pleasure all over it when he shifted to give Atlan better access to his private parts.

The Arkonide swallowed Rhodan's moan with another kiss when he finally pushed his finger inside up to the first knuckle, stilling the motions of his finger to give him time to adjust and wait for him to relax again. When Perry did, he started to move again and push further inside, soon finding a slow rhythm that suited them both.

The Terranian was still flushed red, but he chased after Atlan's lips with passion and need and stroked the skin he could reach with his hands. His palm and the pads of his fingers were calloused and spoke of hard work that proved that idleness was a habit unknown to the First Administrator of the Solar Empire.

Atlan looked down at the man in his arms, and he knew that he would always treasure and cherish the memories of this night. He did not even dare take his eyes off of him - so beautiful in his arousal and the vulnerability Perry Rhodan hardly ever showed to anyone, not even to himself – because the Arkonide feared that he would realize that this was only a wonderful dream and not real if he closed his eyes for even one second.

“Perry, Perry, oh Perry...” Atlan shivered when the Terranian found his most sensitive spots with such ease, stroking along his spine and kneading his butt cheeks until the proud Arkonide began to tremble and turned into jelly under his hands. Their tongues were dancing around each other, and it didn't take long until Atlan could insert two fingers and then three, gasping in surprise when Rhodan caught his wrist with his hand to stop him.

“What's wrong?” he asked, but the younger one shook his head and smiled.

“Nothing, old man,” he murmured, his gaze traveling hungrily over Atlan's handsome ageless features, and the way he said 'old man' made the two words sound like a real endearment. “I... I just want to feel you, Atlan - really feel you, I mean.”

Atlan's eyes widened at this confession, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. He hadn't expected that, not at all. “Have you ever...?” he went silent again, and swallowed, and now it was his turn to feel his cheeks redden.

The echo of a bittersweet memory ghosted over Rhodan's face, and a brief smiled tugged at his lips. The color of his eyes had changed from silver to the dark gray of the stormy Atlantic Ocean, and they darkened with an emotion Atlan wasn't sure about what it actually was. So he was not the only one haunted by the echoes from the past still sounding in his head now and then, and the Arkonide flinched at the short but sharp pain of jealousy that was shooting through his abdomen. He didn't have any right to be jealous, not after the story about his Lionheart he'd told him barely more than an hour ago, but feelings could never be explained or silenced with reason.

Perry's eyes seemed to see right into his soul, seeing his inner turmoil, and he pulled Atlan over his body and wrapped his arms around him to card his fingers through the tousled silken strands of shimmering white hair.

“Yes, I have, but it was long ago. But is that really important now?” The Terranian let his gaze wander down to the small egg-like device that was hanging around Atlan's neck and dangling on the silver necklace between their bodies. Rhodan reached out to touch it with his fingertips, and Atlan could feel how the cellular activator warmed under the Terranian's touch and started to pulse.

“The vault where you keep the love of your Lionheart, minstrel...” he murmured thoughtfully as he slowly shifted his eyes back up to Atlan's face. “Will you keep... me...there, too, Blondel?”

“I don't need to, little barbarian,” Atlan whispered against his lips as he bent down, their mouths touching in a feather-light caress. “You're in my heart and in my soul, you will always be there.” He inhaled deeply Perry's beloved scent, and his eyes became wet with emotion.

“But yes, I will keep you there, Perry, and no, it doesn't matter. The echoes from the past are just that, just echoes. You and I, we are the present – and the future, if you want that.”

The happy smile softening Rhodan's usually so controlled features was breathtakingly beautiful, and Atlan answered with a smile of his own, his heart missing a beat or two before it started to race like his beloved Arab Sunracer had raced with him over the green meadows of Aquitaine.

“Yes, I want that, Atlan, very much,” Perry said, and all Atlan could do was kiss him with all the love and passion he felt for this amazing man.


	4. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atlan and Perry finally cross the line from friends to lovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter became much longer than I'd anticipated, and of course the boys had their own mind again, but I'm actually rather happy with the outcome. I hope that it is a worthy ending to this story, and that I did their first time real justice and managed to make this a good and enjoyable read. <33

“Let me do that,” Perry murmured when Atlan reached for the vial with the oil to line himself up, and the Arkonide had to take a deep breath and cling to the last shreds of his self-control when the man he loved with every fiber of his being wrapped his hand around his aching member to coat it with a generous amount of oil. Warm fingers were stroking up and down on his hard length, curiously and cheekily, and his breath hitched in his throat because it was Perry's fingers touching him so intimately, stroking him so tenderly and skillfully that he feared that he would come right on the spot just from the tender ministration.

“By all proud ancestors and gods, please stop - or it'll be over before we could even start!” he gasped out as he struggled to regain his composure at least partly, and Perry's soft chuckle in his ear and the warm breath caressing his burning face didn't make this task any easier for him.

“I'd love to see you lose your self-control completely one day, Imperator, utterly and thoroughly and just because of me. But not tonight. I'm selfish, I want all of you and feel you coming inside me!” the Terranian murmured, and all Atlan could do was cry out his name and dig his fingers into his palms hard to distract himself from the images Perry's husky words aroused in him.

“Perry!!”

“You want that, too, don't you, Arkonide?” Rhodan's voice was a low and contented purr, and Atlan silenced him with another hard and deep kiss, everything inside him screaming to make this amazing man his and see him fall apart beneath him. The lust for conquest legacy of his proud and powerful ancestors helped him to rein his quickly mounting desire again at last, and he drew back from Rhodan's swollen lips to turn him around and press him into the mattress. His instincts and the long years of their acquaintance and friendship told him that Rhodan was riling him up on purpose to keep control over their first passionate encounter and still have the upper hand, something that had always defined their unique relationship right from the beginning.

The First Administrator of the Solar Empire hated nothing more than losing control and being dependent on others, and Atlan suspected that his own mere presence and Arkonidian origin still reminded the Terranian too much of the simple but very important fact that his so beloved and still rather small Solar Empire wouldn't exist without the Arkonidian technology he'd gained through his first accidental encounter with Thora and Crest back then at all.

The white-haired ten-thousand-year old Arkonide was usually fine with giving Rhodan at least the feeling of being the one in charge, even when he was the one nudging his friend in the right direction of decisions that affected the whole galactic politics and balance, but tonight he wouldn't let his little barbarian do that again. Atlan couldn't remember ever having wanted and needed anything as much as he needed Perry tonight, and he craved to see him lose control and writhe in ecstasy so much that it was like a physical pain in his chest.

Rhodan stiffened for a moment or two when Atlan rolled him onto his stomach, using his heavier body weight to do so, but then he accepted the new position and just turned his head on the pillow to be able to breathe properly and look at him.

“I know what you're doing, Arkonide,” he said, and Atlan bent his head down to take his sensitive earlobe between his teeth.

“You said that you want to feel me, really feel me. That's what we're going to do now, Terranian. You asked for it, so don't complain when you're getting what you want.” Atlan growled, and the heavy shiver he drew from his prey with his husky promise let a new wave of raw desire course through his veins like liquid fire.

“Prove to me then that you're a man standing by your word and that my faith in your skills is not misplaced!” Rhodan challenged him, and the hot feeling spreading out in Atlan's stomach now was not only desire, but deep and overwhelming love.

“Your wish is my command, little barbarian.” He bent down to claim the tempting mouth with his own once more, and Rhodan craned his neck to meet him and return the kiss with heated passion. Another shiver wrecked him when Atlan started to push inside him, drawing it out and pausing in between to give the younger man time to adjust to his size and being filled after the long time that had passed since his last encounter with another man.

Rhodan squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to relax and not fight against the intrusion, and Atlan found himself whispering tender and encouraging endearments against his lips and into his ear, his eyes wet with emotion when he saw the look of pleasure mingled with slight pain on Perry's face.

“Perry... Perry...” he murmured, his need for release painful now. He was so hard, hard with desire for the man who'd just saved his life today, for the man who reminded him so much of his own younger self.

“Atlan...” The Terranian let out a small sigh as he relaxed gradually, welcoming his white-haired friend in his body with trust and joy when Atlan was eventually sheathed deep inside him to the hilt, and not the thinnest sheet of paper would have fitted between them any longer. They lay completely motionless for a moment, savoring their closeness and the peerless feeling of being one for the very first time to the fullest and with racing hearts. The Arkonide sneaked his right arm under Perry's body to wrap it around his chest and support his weight after a couple of minutes, though, too impatient and aching for his lover to wait for any more second, and his left arm embraced him from the other side as he was searching his way to the other man's weeping member with his hand. He would make this good for his little barbarian, an outstanding memory worth to remember no matter how many years and centuries would actually pass by.

Rhodan moaned and shivered when he felt warm fingers enclose his hard cock, and he pushed back against Atlan, demanding that his Arkonidian friend would fulfill his promise and give both of them what they were craving more than anything.

Atlan was all too happy to obey and started to thrust into the heavenly tight heat in earnest when Perry's moans assured him that he wanted this just as much as he himself did, and his experience and love for the remarkable Terranian helped him finding a steady rhythm quickly as he pushed inside Rhodan all over again at a fast pace, his vision clouded with lust and burning passion. The beautiful cock in his hand felt so perfect, hard steel under warm silken skin, slippery with the pleasure their ardent foreplay and their passionate kisses had aroused in Perry, and the remains of the fragrant oil that was still partly coating Atlan's fingers made it easy for him to stroke his lover without hurting him. Perry was twitching and throbbing against his palm when he stroked up and down on the shaft in time to his thrusts, and the Arkonide couldn't get enough of the strangled moans and gasps he pulled from his willing prey with his skillful caresses.

Their desire was mounting higher and higher, and Atlan's heated gaze was glued to Perry's face, taking in the sight of the Terranian's lustfully contorted features with both greedy and loving eyes. He could tell the moment when Perry stopped fighting to keep his usually iron self-control and allowed his feelings and his lust to take over, and it tightened his throat with love and tenderness. He moved harder and faster, changing the angle as he aimed for Rhodan's most sensitive spot, and he was rewarded with a suppressed cry when Perry arched and jerked violently in his arms and craned his head to press his face against Atlan's sweaty throat.

His cellular activator was trapped between their bodies and Atlan could feel its pulsing as the devices reacted to his arousal, somehow boosting his desire and lust to heights he'd never experienced before tonight. Perry loosened his fist from where he'd clung to the silken sheets with his hand to dig his short nails into Atlan's thigh instead and urge his Arkonidian mate on, their harsh breathing echoing in the splendid imperial bedchamber. Atlan's fingers moved up and down on the proof of Rhodan's desire for him, and the way Perry hardened and twitched in his hand spurred him on to use all of his knowledge and skills when he felt the younger man getting close – to make sure that his beloved friend would find complete satisfaction and not be able to hold anything back from him when he came.

“Atlan... oh yes, right there...yes, do that again!” Even so close to losing it his little barbarian proved himself to be bossy and demanding, and Atlan chuckled and mouthed along the Terranian's prominent jawline, so tensed with his weak attempt to draw it out and not come before the Arkonide would be too busied with himself and his own lust to watch him coming undone.

“You're so close, little barbarian, so close, I can feel how close you are. Come on, Terranian, give it to me, let me see you come for me...” he breathed against his fragrant skin and the damp flesh of Rhodan's sensitive neck, straining his eyes in order not to miss the incredible sight of Perry shuddering in the throes of passion when Atlan's husky order pushed him over the edge and he came right there and then with another strangled cry. The beautiful cock in the Arkonide's hand jerked forcefully, and hot white pleasure erupted from the tip in fast spurts, coating his fingers with the evidence of Perry's satisfaction. Atlan felt humble and blessed as he held his breath and savored the other man's pleasure to the fullest, wishing that this precious moment when Perry was all his and his alone would last forever, and that they could just stay here for the rest of their lives and ignore the world outside and their own duties.

It did not really last forever of course, the moment coming to an end far too soon because the vast and endless universe would not bend to the wishes of its small residents, and Atlan's need for release became too urgent for him to fight against it for any longer. He followed Perry over the edge and right into the abyss of sweet oblivion when the Terranian relaxed in his arms with a shaky sigh, his softening cock nestled against Atlan's sticky palm and his fingers losing their grip on Atlan's thigh.

“Atlan, please!” his friend murmured, and the Arkonide knew that he was lost. His climax had built steadily in his groin over the past minutes, and yet it almost took him by surprise, washing over him with such force that Atlan's vision went white with the sheer intensity of his feelings and the sensations coursing through his body. He could feel Perry's eyes on his face, watching him like he'd watched his friend, but his eyes had fallen shut of their own will with the violence of his release, and he pressed his face against Perry's cheek and simply surrendered himself to his lust. Blindly he wrapped his arms tightly around the man who'd proven himself to be his anchor and his tower of strength so many times, and especially on this fateful day when he'd literally nothing left and the light of the stars had started to fade before his breaking eyes.

Small shivers were running through Perry's body when he felt Atlan spending himself inside his body and spilling against his still tender walls, and he pressed himself closer and melted against Atlan's broad frame until it was over and the Arkonide turned them onto their sides in order not to crush him with his weight while he was recovering from his intense satisfaction.

“I love you.” Words uttered in the heat of passion or the aftermath of it were often born out of the moment's pleasure and spoken without real honesty behind them, but Atlan couldn't keep them inside any longer, and they came from the deepest parts of his soul and his heart. For the length of a heartbeat he wasn't even sure that he'd actually spoken them out loud, but then Rhodan went still in his arms for another heartbeat or two, before he entangled their fingers to rest them on his chest right over his heart.

“I know, Atlan.” Perry craned his head to peer over his shoulder, and the soft smile displaying on his still flushed features was heartbreakingly beautiful. Atlan knew that Perry didn't consider himself handsome or beautiful, and in the usual sense or definition of beauty he might be right with that. His features often appeared as too haggard and angular to be called handsome, and the gray color of his eyes was not the sky-blue or golden-brown eye-color that was praised and worshiped in songs and serenades about love, but for Atlan there was no other man as handsome, attractive and beautiful from the inside and the outside as Perry Rhodan, and there had never been anybody else like this man again since he'd watched his beloved Lionheart taking his last breath more than eight hundred years ago.

In this moment, when Perry smiled at him, his skin still glowing with the echo of the passion they'd just shared, his gray eyes sparkling silver with the love this astonishing man felt for him, he looked more beautiful than all the unearthly beautiful - but lifeless - marble statues of the ancient Greek and Roman gods and heroes, the incarnation and symbols of male perfection, but which could never be as perfect and beautiful as the living and breathing man in his arms. His little barbarian was not only handsome, but also one of the bravest, most honorable, faithful and impressive men Atlan had ever had the honor to meet in his incredible long life. His devotion for his people and his dream to build a galactic empire that offered peace and freedom for all nations and species living in this galaxy was something only few men possessed, and if there was one being that could change the universe like nothing else could do, then it would be Perry Rhodan, Atlan knew that for sure.

Perry looked at him over his shoulder, and Atlan gazed back, drowning in the silver sea of the Terranian's tender eyes.

“I love you, Perry,” he said again, needing to hear himself say those three little but so important words out loud.

“I know, Atlan,” Perry repeated, He turned around in his arms and reached out to touch his face with his fingertips and utmost tenderness. “I love you, too.”

The immortal Arkonide swallowed and pulled his friend close to hide his face in the warm crook of his shoulder, and Rhodan wrapped his arms around him and carded his fingers through his long white hair tenderly. There were no other words needed, and for a while they were content with just lying there like this and listening to each other's heartbeats as if they were the only two beings in the world.

*~*~*

They'd settled down for a short nap, but their desire for each other woke them up again after an hour or so, as both of them were too well aware of the fact that they wouldn't have time alone together when the next day dawned again.

Atlan found himself lying flat on his back with Perry straddling his thighs and looming above him, hungry silver-gray eyes roaming over his Arkonidian and yet so human-alike male features. He looked back up at the Terranian, and Rhodan's intense and predatory expression was enough to arouse his desire quickly once more and make him hardening visibly under the intense and thorough scrutiny of the other man.

Perry's eyes lit up when he noticed his reaction, and he placed his hand on Atlan's chest right where the small egg-like device was pulsing against his skin ever so slightly. The pulsing increased as if the cellular activator was a sentient being, and a low groan escaped Atlan's lips. Seeing his normally so reserved and closed-up friend letting go of his self-control was incredibly arousing, and for a moment he wished that they had met before Rhodan had flown to the moon and become the statesman he was now, when he'd still been just a young and adventurous major of the US Air Force and not felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on his shoulders. The well-being of billions of people and hundreds of worlds was always his first and most important concern, and the First Administrator of the Solar Empire would always come before the private man Perry. Putting the needs of his charges before his own needs and wishes was always Rhodan's first desire and duty, and forgetting about those duties for a couple of hours was even harder for Rhodan than it was for Atlan.

The Arkonide felt the same weight of responsibility and concern for his own kin, and seeing the decadent descendants of the once so strong and proud Arkonides losing more and more of their skills and intelligence was almost too painful to bear for him. But Atlan knew how important it was to allow himself some precious hours of free time when he was just the man Atlan and not the Imperator of what little was left of the former so big and powerful Arkonidian Empire, and he could relax and forget about his duties for some time much better than his Terranian friend was able to do.

But here and now, in the seclusion and shelter of his bedroom in the Crystal Palace, Perry was not the politician, not the First Administrator of his still so small and yet already so proud and powerful galactic empire, but just the man who desired Atlan with the same force as Atlan desired him, and a small shiver wrecked the Arkonide's body when Rhodan closed his fingers around his activator and bent down to leave a trace of feather-light kisses along his jawline.

“Will you return the favor and let me have you, Arkonide?” he murmured against Atlan's oversensitive lips, pulling more shivers from him. “Will you allow me to take you like your coeur de Lion was allowed to have you?”

There was a strange undertone in Rhodan's voice, something akin to uncertainty, his request something between a demand and a plea, and Atlan realized with astonishment that the man he loved more than life itself seemed to be jealous of another man – someone who'd died more than eight hundred years ago.

“Are you jealous, little barbarian? Jealous of Richard?” he asked as he tried to catch Rhodan's eyes, and the Terranian paused, his lips hovering just above Atlan's mouth.

“Do I need to be jealous of him, minstrel?” he retorted with a counter question of his own, and for a moment he refused to meet Atlan's gaze.

Atlan cupped Rhodan's face with both hands and pulled him down. “No, never, Perry. Not of anyone.” His kiss was short but fierce, assuring the younger man that he indeed had nothing to worry about when it came to his place in the immortal's heart. Rhodan didn't respond, but he relaxed and let out a sigh as he kissed him back with barely restrained desire. Their tongues danced around each other with passion, and they were both out of breath when they parted again. Perry was searching for his gaze, and Atlan smiled at him and reached for the vial with the oil to press it into Rhodan's hand in a silent invitation.

The white-haired Arkonide had had several male lovers over the centuries and millennia, and he'd cared for all of them, but there had only been two men he'd given himself to, the remarkable Roman he'd once met in the ancient Roman Empire, and then Richard Plantagenet more than thousand years later. He'd never wanted to give himself to any other man, never before these so very special two of his male companions he'd loved with so much passion, and never again after he'd lost Richard so many centuries ago.

Perry would be the third man allowed to take all of him, and Atlan was surprised about the force he craved this with, how much he longed to feel this amazing man in the deepest parts of his body and soul. Perry was like him, the child of the stars and not only of one single world, immortal, and he understood Atlan and his feelings so much better than anybody else would ever be able to understand him. They were true mates, and Atlan longed to know how it was to be loved by this man more than he'd ever longed for anything else – even more than he'd longed to go home to Arkon over the course of ten thousand very long years.

The Terranian smiled at him, and Atlan smiled back, pulling him in for another kiss. Words were not needed between them, and the immortal Arkonide closed his eyes and let his thighs fall open when he felt the gentle touch of warm and slick fingers between them, Perry's passionate kisses helping him to relax and welcome the sensations the Terranian's careful preparation aroused in him.

Tomorrow they would be the First Administrator of the Solar Empire and Imperator Gonozal again, but tonight they were Perry and Atlan, friends and finally lovers as well, and this was all Atlan wanted to be tonight.

*~*~*

The first intrusion after the long time he hadn't done this burnt despite the time Rhodan had taken to make sure that Atlan would be ready for him, but the Arkonide actually welcomed the slight pain he felt because it made their encounter feel more real to him. The small discomfort he experienced when the Terranian entered him slowly and carefully grounded him and helped him to keep the last shreds of his self-control together and not just come from the overwhelming sensation of being filled and stretched to his limits and feel the man he'd secretly desired for years deep inside his body for the first time.

He gasped out when Rhodan was buried balls-deep inside him, and the younger man looked down at him with this hungry expression on his features again, his dark eyes looking right into Atlan's soul. The Terranian was balancing his weight on his stretched arms without moving, his hands braced against the mattress at each side of Atlan's head as he glanced down at him with that fierce look in his eyes, and Atlan reached out for him to make him move, his neglected cock leaking milky droplets on his abdomen.

“Nah, nah, don't move, Arkonide. It's my turn now,” Rhodan chided him with sparkling eyes and a challenging smile, and Atlan hated to admit it, but he found Perry's attitude to be incredibly arousing.

His friend seemed to read his mind because he sat back on his heels without pulling out of him and pinned Atlan's wrists onto the pillow over his head with his hands, trapping him effectively this way. Atlan's chest was heaving with his breaths, his hard cock jerking unhappily because of the delay, but Rhodan didn't let himself be rushed as he apparently wanted to enjoy and savor it to the fullest that he was the one in charge now and Atlan at his complete mercy for once. He simply looked down at him for a little eternity, regarding him with those bottomless silver-gray eyes as if he wanted to burn the sight of Atlan into his memory forever.

“Perry, please, move!” Atlan croaked out when he couldn't stand it any longer, and he wasn't too proud to beg for what he needed so badly, his desire and need to lose himself in Perry's love and passion too strong to fight against it. He tried to free his hands, but Rhodan's glance warned him that he'd better stop his attempts and surrender to his beloved barbarian if he did not want to risk being left alone and unsatisfied.

“Oh, I will, don't worry, Arkonide, but not so fast. I've been waiting for so long to have you beneath me like this, I don't want this to be over too quickly.”

Rhodan's admission came unexpected, and it let another wave of hot and painful desire shoot through his veins.

“You did?” he ground out as he struggled to keep his hips still, and Perry nodded, closing the fingers of his left hand around both of Atlan's wrists to have his right hand free to do with his prey as it pleased him. He started to stroke down from Atlan's chin to his collarbone, and further down to his abdomen, but he stopped before he reached his weeping manhood, and Atlan groaned in frustration. Perry chuckled delightedly, and only the heavy pulsing of his hard cock trapped in Atlan's burning channel proved to him that the Terranian desired and needed him with the same despair, and that he kept himself together only with greatest effort.

“Seems that we both wanted the same thing for a rather long time but didn't dare to make the first move until I almost lost you,” Perry murmured, following the journey of his fingers on Atlan's body with his eyes, his voice quiet and thoughtful, husky and a little bit ashamed that he hadn't told Atlan how he felt until it had almost been too late.

“We both didn't want to risk our friendship, Perry,” Atlan consoled him, and his friend nodded and bent down to press a gentle kiss onto his lips. Then, he straightened his back again and finally started to move, pulling almost out and pushing all the way in again in a torturously slow rhythm that made Atlan want to scream and beg - but he wouldn't give his little barbarian the satisfaction of seeing the heir of the proud house of Gonozal beg for release just like that. His wrists were still trapped in Perry's iron-like grip, and he couldn't do little more than just push his hips up to meet Rhodan's well-measured thrusts, craving friction on his poor leaking cock so much that it was driving him insane.

But the Terranian had obviously put his mind to torturing him and drawing their encounter out for as long as possible, moving slowly and ignoring deliberately how Atlan's poor cock was bouncing against his abdomen and begging for some love and attention. Perry clearly knew what he was doing, as he was avoiding hitting that sensitive bundle of nerves hidden deep inside Atlan's passage on purpose, too, grinning wolfishly when the white-haired Arkonide whimpered pathetically at the missed aim each time he pushed back inside. Oh yes, his little barbarian knew exactly what he was doing and how he could keep him on the edge and make him beg for mercy, and it was sweet torture indeed, the slow pace, the sensations Perry's deep thrusts aroused in him which were yet never enough to bring him closer to the release Atlan craved so much.

“Stop teasing me, little barbarian, please!” Atlan gasped when Perry brushed over his prostate for the first time at last, not hard enough to give him what he truly wanted, but more than he'd granted him over the past few minutes. His hands were still pinned to the pillow, and Rhodan's right hand was playing with his cellular activator once more, rolling it in his palm and pressing it against Atlan's chest while he was looking at it as if he'd never seen it before, with a slight frown creasing the space between his dark-blond eye-brows.

The Arkonide was used to such looks when people learned about the true nature of the activator, to the greediness and fierce envy and even hate showing in the other ones' eyes when they realized that Atlan was immortal and they were not. But Perry was immortal himself due to the cellular shower IT granted him, and the look in his eyes was not greedy or envious, but more a mixture of grim determination, fear and disbelief – as if he was torn between anger and gratitude.

_'He's still struggling with the frightening truth that he almost lost you today. You know Perry – there is nothing he hates or fears more than losing control over things and situations. He was helpless and couldn't do anything when Thora died, and he's still blaming himself that he allowed her to go on that mission that was the cause of her death – and that he didn't accompany her and wasn't there to save her when she would have needed him the most._

_Today was different as he was there to save you and give your activator back to you right in time, but it was only in the very last minute, and he's still scared and fighting the feeling of helplessness he experienced when the energy weapons he used couldn't penetrate the Anti's personal protecting shield._

_His goal is not wanting to tease you, he just needs to feel like being in control of the situation again to make peace with himself, and this is what you should allow him to do. He does not envy you for your activator, and he wouldn't do that even if he were not immortal himself because of the cellular shower he's granted every seventy years. Envy is such a foreign concept to him that he doesn't even realize it when it's directed at himself and his status or immortality – which makes him be too considerate and benevolent towards ill-minded people at times as you know so well – because you are left to be the one reminding of their ill will and protecting him against those people on that occasions, then. More important, Perry Rhodan has never been the one striving for immortality for his own sake, but just because he's so deeply devoted to Earth and his people and because of the responsibility he feels for them and their protection._

_But even though he is for sure the least envious and selfish man you have ever known within ten thousand years, but he knows the feeling of jealousy like each sentient and intelligent being, and after having just listened to your story about the King of England, your activator has become a symbol for your love for Richard and makes him feel uncertain about his own value and standing. He needs to know that you need him as much as he needs you, and most of all he needs to feel being in charge and control again. It's upon you now to give him what he's longing for – after all that he did for you earlier,'_ his extra sense made itself known all of a sudden, after having remained silent for hours, and Atlan flinched at the reprimand he'd just received from his logic sector.

He wanted to slap himself that he hadn't seen the obvious and groaned, but Perry mistook his reaction to his inward conversation with himself as a sign of pain he'd caused with his lovemaking, and he stopped instantly as he bent down to kiss him and stroke his cheek in a gesture of apology.

“Did I hurt you, Atlan?” he asked with genuine concern coloring his hoarse voice, and the Arkonide shook his head and smiled at him, pulling himself together again. His extra sense might have a terrible timing at times, but it was right with all it had said, and it was upon himself now to give his beloved friend what he needed but couldn't ask for aloud, and to show Perry that he meant more to him than any other being had ever meant to him – or would ever mean to him in the future.

“No, love, you didn't, not at all. I just want you so much. Please, Perry, I need to feel you – all of you! Take me and make me yours, all yours!” he whispered urgently into their deep kiss, and Perry moaned at his words, a noise that sounded almost as if he was in pain, which he probably was, not physically hurting, but mentally after the mortal fear of losing Atlan he'd gone through.

Atlan watched the Terranian through halfway closed lids when Rhodan drew back a little with a shaky inhale of breath, letting go of the activator and losing his grip around Atlan's wrists to intertwine their fingers on the pillow instead, squeezing them as he held on tightly to Atlan's hands as though they were his only lifeline and started to move again, thrusting deep and hard without holding back any longer.

There was no finesse in his desperate motions, just want and need and desire, no teasing as primal instincts kicked in and took over, and Atlan found himself shoved back and forth on the mattress all over again with each hard push and pull and his nerve-endings battered mercilessly with the relentless and punishing rhythm of Rhodan's pummeling.

This was not the sweet and tender lovemaking he'd dreamed of at nights so often, it was the heated and desperate coupling of two men who'd just been facing death together today, the frantic and heated encounter that came with the pivotal reassurance that they were still alive after such a fatal experience. Atlan had been in such circumstances before countless times, and he welcomed the force and intensity of their lovemaking that actually resembled more a battle than anything else. His world shrank to the large bed and the man moving above him, to the sight of Perry's contorted face and the feeling of his hard manhood splitting him into again and again, and he forgot about his own neglected cock and his need to be touched there, his only desire to feel his beloved as close as two beings could possibly be until they would truly be one in each and every way that mattered and not able to be told apart anymore.

And Perry gave him what he craved, driving deeper and deeper into him and holding onto his fingers until they started to feel numb. He grew harder inside Atlan's abused channel with his approaching climax, and the Arkonide gasped and arched his back into his thrusts, craving to feel the man he loved more than anything fill him with his seed so much that it was tightening his throat again.

“Come for me, Perry, please, I need you to come, make me yours,” he halfway pleaded and halfway demanded, “need you so much, please...” and Rhodan groaned in response with the exertion as he went rigid above him, poised on the edge for another heartbeat before he started to pulse and thrust deep into Atlan one last time.

Atlan's breath hitched in his throat when he felt Perry's orgasm ripple through him with violent force and the evidence of the Terranian's desire for him spilled against his cramping walls, filling him with his claim just like he'd been yearning for.

“By all Ancestors and Gods, yes, yes, give me more!” he ground out, wishing that he could wrap his arms around his shuddering and shivering lover, but Rhodan did not let go off his hands, not until he finally relaxed with a sigh that was actually more a sob, bending down to kiss Atlan with surprising softness and tenderness after his passionate coupling.

“Gods, I love you, Terranian!” Atlan groaned breathlessly when his own need for release came back into his focus, his cock slick with precome and aching badly after having been ignored for so long. Rhodan chuckled weakly and finally released their fingers to snake his right hand between their still connected bodies and search for Atlan's weeping member to stroke him to completion.

The Arkonide braced his feet against the mattress, and now it was his turn to cling to the fingers of Rhodan's left hand when the first touch of calloused fingers on his throbbing dick were almost too much and he couldn't suppress the strangled cry that was escaping his bitten lips. He swallowed and gritted his teeth, but the younger man shook his head and squeezed his cock in warning.

“No, old man, don't hold back, don't keep it inside. Let me hear you, make noise for me,” he ordered, his voice still raw and husky from his own powerful height.

Atlan inhaled the air sharply through his teeth, and his eyes lost their focus when his emotions overwhelmed him, but he was acutely aware of Rhodan watching him closely and intently. “What are you doing to me, barbarian?” he gasped when another wave of pure lust washed over him and he felt his orgasm build at the end of his spine, heat pooling deep in his groin and increasing with every up and down of Rhodan's hand on his achingly hard manhood.

“You tell me, Arkonide,” Rhodan murmured, and their lips were so close to each other that Atlan could almost feel the touch of the Terranian's warm mouth, but not really, and it was driving him crazy. Perry was still watching him, moving his hand faster on his needy cock, but he stopped right before Atlan reached the point of no return, and waited until he could be sure that his shivering and writhing lover wouldn't come until he allowed him to come. His manhood nestled inside Atlan's body was still half-hard, softening only slowly, and the slight pulsing of the aftershocks still running through Perry were boosting Atlan's arousal to unknown heights and making him want to sob with all the sensations that were battering his nerves with painful intensity.

“Let me come!” he begged, and he cried out desperately when the younger man bent to his wish and started to stroke him again, hard and fast and so skillfully that entire galaxies of stars were exploding before Atlan's unseeing eyes. Rhodan's face was only a pale spot in the flickering lights of the candles that lit up his imperial bedchamber, and the next stroke pushed him over the brink and shattered the world around him into a million glistening pieces of colors and emotions. Pleasure so strong that he almost blacked out coursed through his veins with each new wave of satisfaction erupting from his manhood, and the noises his throat produced to voice his emotions would have embarrassed him if he'd actually been aware of them.

What he was aware of was the hand stroking him through his height and the murmured words of love against his lips as well as Perry's rapturous eyes on his face, and the feeling of utter and pleasant exhaustion when it was finally over. He was too tired to move but a single finger, or open his eyes, and he gratefully let his beloved friend clean him up and bundle him in his arms afterwards.

“Will you still be here when I wake up again?” he murmured drowsily when the events of the past three days caught up with him all of a sudden and he could feel the slumber of exhaustion approach him rapidly.

There was a gentle kiss on his forehead, and silken covers tugged around him. “I will always be there when you need me, friend,” Perry whispered against his lips, and Atlan knew that this was the truth.

With Perry Rhodan by his side, Atlan could face without fear whatever the future would bring, and no matter of how loud the echoes from the past would still sound in his ears and his memory. There would be times when they would have to go back to being friends more than lovers, Atlan was aware of that, too, but he was fine with that as their special friendship would always define their relationship more than their desire for each other, the friendship of two immortals who knew and understood each other better than anyone else did, and which bridged the gaps of alienness between their two species and overcame all boundaries, fears and hate.

Together they were stronger and invincible, and Atlan would never lose faith in this important truth and in their friendship. Together they could bring peace to the galaxy, as friends and lovers, and this was all Atlan would always believe in with every fiber of his heart for as long as he would live.


End file.
